Forever and All Eternity II: Kismet
by Bratling
Summary: Clark arrives on New Krypton. What challenges will her face?


Forever and All Eternity II: Kismet

By: Laura Davies brightfeather1.geo@yahoo.com

Rated: PG-13

Submitted: May 2003

Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me. I'm just 

playing with them for a while. G Aw, heck. The main 

reasons for fanfic to exist is a basic dissatisfaction with 

the way a series ended (or didn't end), what-if scenarios, 

and/or a desire to mess with our favorite characters' 

lives. I'm just contributing! ;) Any resemblance to any 

other work of fiction is strictly coincidental. All 

characters besides those specifically mentioned in the 

series are figments of my chocolate and PEZ high 

imagination and belong to *me* and this version of New 

Krypton definitely belongs to me. g All other bits of 

weirdness can be attributed to sleep-deprivation. ;)

Authors note: My thanks goes out to the writers of the 

original New Krypton Arc. I also need to thank all of my 

wonderful beta readers who assisted in this project, Avia, 

Breanna, Doug, and Jenni. Special thanks go to my friends: 

Wanda, Mary, Lote, and Missy as well as all of the readers 

on Zoom's message boards for staying in for the long haul--

it's taken seven months to get this far. Thanks to Missy, 

Chief Pam, Paul, Colin, SQD for giving me suggestions for a 

certain scene. I also need to thank the regulars on 

#lanekent... Without y'all this story would have never been 

begun, let alone finished. This is Book II, so I'm afraid 

you'll have to read Book I for this to make much sense.

****

Zara watched Clark as he fingered a pendant that hung 

around his neck. She supposed his wi... concubine on Earth 

must have given it to him before his departure. Her lips 

tightened as she watched him run his finger over its 

surface and open it. Perhaps convincing him to stay forever 

would be harder than she had previously thought. She simply 

didn't understand his attachment to this Earth woman... He 

was Kryptonian nobility and should be attached to his 

rightful wife... her. She rose from her seat and began to 

cross the room to speak with Kal-El... 

Zara jumped when Ching came up behind her and unexpectedly 

laid his hand on her arm. Zara, don't. He sent.

Why not? He is *my* husband.

Zara, how many times do you have to hear that he loves 

his wife? What you're contemplating may very well drive him 

from us; he is only with us to protect his children from 

Nor. Don't rip his family apart more than we have 

already.

Ching, you are not my keeper! *I* am First Lady. *I* know 

what is best for me and for our people. Kal-El is *my* 

husband and consort. He is the key that will keep us from 

plunging into civil war. One single family is not so 

important when weighed against an entire civilization. I 

don't want his children to be hurt, but at the same time, 

he is necessary for saving my people! You, despite your 

heritage, are only a bodyguard and a lieutenant. You will 

obey my orders as well as Kal-El's.

Fire flashed in Ching's eyes as he nodded his acquiescence. 

Deep inside his mind, behind layer upon layer of shields 

where he hoped that Zara could not see, he vowed that he 

would help Kal-El preserve his family... even if it 

involved crossing Zara's wishes.

Zara stared at Kal-El for a few more minutes. She hadn't 

expected him to be broadcasting such great waves of... 

pain, loneliness, and fear. Momentarily, she wondered if 

she and the Elders of the council had been right to bring 

him to New Krypton. They weren't infallible--they were only 

Kryptonian after all. 

With a shake of her head, she banished the thought; Kal-El 

was *her* husband... He's also been married to someone 

else for six cycles, a little voice in the back of her 

head said. Yes. but-- Zara sighed, turned and began to 

walk back to her quarters.

****

Lucy listened as Jimmy explained Lois's current situation. 

Lois would probably not ask for help, but Lucy loved her 

sister, so she decided to take matters in her own hands. If 

Clark couldn't be there to help with the children, then it 

was time she came to the rescue. Her schedule at the 

hospital was hectic, but she was sure that her bosses would 

cut her some slack so that she could help with Kiley and 

Joseph. 

"Jimmy," she began, "I have an idea... Lois is going to 

need help with the kids, and I know she couldn't stand 

having our mother there. We probably won't be able to see 

as much of each other this way, but I'm going to move in 

with Lois for a while to help out. Would you mind?"

Jimmy studied her earnest face for a moment before 

replying. He had only given her the cover story for Clark's 

absence; she was still in the dark about Clark's second 

career. "I tried to come up with a way to help, but I 

couldn't think of anything. Lois and the kids *are* 

family... I'll miss you, Lucy, but moving in with Lois is a 

good idea." Jimmy smiled. "There is one question I would 

like to ask you first..." Jimmy dropped to one knee and 

pulled a box out of his pocket. "Dr. Lucy Lane, I love you. 

I never thought I would meet someone like you... I feel 

like I've found part of myself that I never realized I was 

missing until I found you. I'll never rest until I know..." 

He opened the box, revealing a diamond ring. "I would share 

the rest of my life with you... Lucy, will you marry me?"

Lucy's face broke into a smile. She loved Jimmy; she had 

for a long time. Wordlessly, as her face lit up with joy, 

she nodded. She stood up, pulled him to his feet, and into 

a sweet kiss. "I love you, Jimmy Olsen." She said quietly 

as he slid the ring on her finger. "Now, you can help me 

pack." She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards her 

bedroom.

****

Kiley wandered into her parents' room with Clarkie-bear 

clutched firmly under one arm and her rag doll, Annie, 

clutched under the other. She couldn't sleep. It was far 

past her bedtime... she wanted her Mommy and Daddy. She 

rubbed the back of her hand across her eyes, scrubbing away 

the beginnings of tears that threatened to fall. "Mommy?" 

she said, snuffling.

"What is it, punkin?" Lois answered as she pushed herself 

up.

"Clarkie-bear, Annie, and me can't sleep 'cause Daddy isn't 

here. Can we sleep with you, Mommy?"

Lois turned back the bedclothes and motioned to her 

daughter. "Come on up, sweetie."

Kiley climbed into the big bed. She missed 'Feeling' her 

father's presence in the house. He had been gone for less 

than a day, but he was already so far away from them that 

it was getting hard to 'Feel' him anymore. She cuddled 

close to her mother, taking comfort in the fact that at 

least she was still there. Hurry home, Daddy she thought. 

"Please send Daddy back to us soon, God," she whispered 

quietly.

Lois hugged Kiley tightly and stroked her daughter's hair 

back from her face. Her mouth twisted into a wry smile as 

she heard Kiley's heartfelt plea. It was the same prayer 

she had carried in her heart and found herself whispering 

since the inevitable decision had been made. It wasn't long 

before Kiley's soft breathing told her that her firstborn 

had finally fallen asleep. 

Lois turned her face to the pillow and breathed in Clark's 

scent. Soon she slipped off into dreams of Clark's return.

****

Clark flopped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He 

missed Lois and the kids desperately. He hadn't yet been 

gone a full day, but the fact that they were now millions 

of miles away and that he would not see them for months was 

a constant ache. Mentally, he pictured the brownstone, as 

it would look at this hour. Images of his family in their 

sleep flooded through his mind. 

Mentally, he saw Kiley curled up with Clarkie-bear and 

Annie, fast asleep. His mind's eye flashed to Joseph curled 

up around Ted E. Bear in his toddler bed. He smiled at the 

mental image of his children cuddled up with the toys his 

mother had made for them upon their birth. 

In his mind's eye, he saw Lois curled up in their bed with 

her nose buried in his pillow. He made an inarticulate moan 

of pain low in his throat; they needed him and yet he was 

far away. His fists clenched as a single tear rolled down 

his cheek. He buried his face into the pillow and prayed 

that he could go home soon.

****

Lois woke to the insistent ringing of the doorbell. She 

rolled over, looked at the clock, and groaned; 6 AM. 

Carefully, so as not to disturb Kiley, she slid out of bed, 

threw on Clark's robe, and padded downstairs to answer the 

door. She looked through the peephole and was surprised to 

see Lucy standing on the stoop.

Lois quickly unlocked the door and opened it. "Lucy?" she 

asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I heard about Clark going undercover," Lucy began, "and I 

thought you might be able to use my help with the kids... I 

talked to the hospital about switching me to day shift. I'm 

here as long as you need me."

Lois started to say something, but Lucy dropped the 

suitcase she was carrying and put her arm around Lois's 

shoulders. "Lois, you've done so much for me; you're my 

sister and you practically raised me. Let me help. Joseph 

and Kiley would be a handful even if you *weren't* 

pregnant..."

Lois hesitated then nodded slowly. She knew that she could 

use help with the kids, but at the same time, asking for 

help would be another reminder that Clark was gone. But 

since her sister was offering... "Come in, Lucy," she said 

quietly.

Lucy picked up her suitcase and walked through the inner 

door. "I'll take Clark's parents to the airport," she 

asserted quietly. "I'm on call today, but otherwise I'm all 

yours for the rest of the week." Lucy looked at Lois 

seriously. "Sis," she began, "What are families for but to 

help each other?" Lucy set the suitcase down and hugged her 

sister. 

Lois stood passively in her sister's embrace and broke it 

after a few minutes. She turned around, expecting to see 

Clark's solid presence behind her and almost burst into 

tears with renewed grief when he wasn't there. The Kents 

were leaving, Clark was gone, and it felt like nothing 

would be right ever again. She hadn't felt so alone in 

years. Lucy had come with an offer of help when she needed 

it the most. Without Clark, her world was a much quieter, 

sadder place--but Lucy's presence would help fill the 

silence.

Lois choked back tears as she stumbled over to the couch 

and sat down heavily. She wanted her husband back. He had 

been gone for less than twenty-four hours, but she already 

missed him desperately. Just the thought of his months-long 

absence without means of communication hurt badly. A few 

lonely tears escaped from her eyes as she wrapped her arms 

around herself, momentarily forgetting Lucy's presence.

As Lucy watched her sister's collapse, her heart ached 

fiercely for the big sister who had always seemed 

indestructible to her. For as long as she could remember, 

she had looked up to Lois. Cautiously, she stepped over to 

the sofa, sank down on to it, and put her arms around her 

sister. Somehow, she knew that the best thing she could do 

at this moment was to let Lois cry on her shoulder. She 

knew how she would feel if Jimmy suddenly had to go 

undercover and not be able to contact her... especially if 

she had two small children to care for as well as being 

pregnant. 

Wordlessly, Lucy gently pushed Lois's hair back from her 

face and hugged her tightly. She hated to see Lois fall 

apart, but at the same time, she knew how temporary this 

was. Her sister was a fighter; she would keep going until 

the happy day that Clark returned. So wrapped up was she in 

her sister's pain that she was surprised to hear a small 

sleepy voice at her elbow.

"Aunt Lucy?" the little voice questioned.

Lucy turned her head to find Kiley standing beside her. 

"What is it, sweetie?" Lucy asked.

"Why is Mommy crying?" she asked, her big brown eyes filled 

with concern.

Lois drew in a ragged breath, quelled the majority of her 

tears and held out her arms to her small daughter. 

"Punkin', I'm just sad because I miss your Daddy so much."

Kiley snuggled into her mother's embrace and hugged Lois. 

"Mommy, Daddy will be ok. I dreamed that he told me to tell 

you that he loves you an' that he's hurrying home."

A soft smile stole over Lois's face as the rest of her 

tears dried up. She gently stroked her baby girl's hair and 

pressed a kiss to the top of her head. "I know, 

sweetheart," she said quietly. Somehow, holding Kiley made 

the bond she shared with Clark seem stronger; she could 

feel his love for her through it as if it were almost a 

tangible thing. As she held her firstborn close to her, the 

sadness of separation seemed to slip from her, replaced by 

a feeling of unconditional love that she had not known... 

until she met Clark.

Lucy released her sister and watched in amazement as Lois's 

tears stopped falling with Kiley's embrace. Sadness still 

lurked in her sister's eyes, but somehow in this moment, 

she was not quite as devastated as she had been a few 

minutes before. A hint of jealously entered her heart as 

she watched Lois and Kiley. She envied Lois her happy 

family. She hoped that she and Jimmy could marry soon... 

she wanted what Lois had, a home and maybe even children of 

her own--Jimmy's children.

****

Clark woke slowly, obeying some internal alarm that had 

nothing to do with ship time. He stared at the ceiling and 

absently reached out his hand to find the warm, soft body 

of his wife, momentarily forgetting that she wasn't with 

him. He frowned sleepily as his hand encountered the wall 

that his single bed stood against. His eyes flew open as 

memory flooded back. 

* Lois* he thought longingly. For a moment, he could have 

sworn he felt her lithe, warm body next to his and her head 

lying on his chest. 

The last time they had been separated for any length of 

time had been during their first aborted attempt to get 

married when Lex had kidnapped her. At least this time, she 

was safe. This time, he didn't have to worry about Lex 

Luthor hurting his beloved or their children. As long as 

the people he loved were safe, he could survive this 

experience. He hoped. He swallowed around the lump in his 

throat. He missed them terribly. He had been gone for less 

than twenty-four hours and already he would give anything 

to feel his wife slip her small hand in his, his children's 

arms around his neck, and to hear their childish voices 

calling him the name that had become so precious to him--

'Daddy'.

Slowly, Clark sat up and reached into the bag beside his 

bed for the journal that lay nestled in his favorite 

sweater. He counted himself lucky that he still had the few 

familiar items of clothing that had been in the bag; Zara 

had insisted upon taking the worn clothes he had arrived in 

away 'to be cleaned'. Somehow, he doubted he would ever see 

his favorite old clothes again. He opened the leather-bound 

book and stared at the smooth white paper underneath the 

cover before he reached over and pulled a pen from his bag. 

He uncapped the pen and stared at the paper a few more 

moments before he began to write.

Over the past few years, he had become used to having 

someone to confide in... since Lois wasn't available, he 

guessed that a journal would have to do. As much as he 

loved writing, he had always tried to avoid leaving a 

personal record of his life as both Superman and Clark Kent 

to try and ensure that the public would not finally put two 

and two together. This, however, was different. Not only 

had Perry made him promise to keep the journal but also he 

needed an outlet for the emotion that threatened to 

overcome him. He couldn't afford to give in to his sadness, 

loneliness and the fear that he would never make it home...

****

Zara sat cross-legged on her bed and pondered her birth-

husband. He had seemed so happy when she had observed him 

with his family, but in the past day or so, some of the joy 

that had seemed to make up part of his character had 

faded... and she was responsible for that. While it was 

true that it hadn't been her idea to come and bring him to 

New Krypton, she still felt a little guilty for taking away 

some of his joy.

She knew that he was the best hope for her people... But 

all of her earlier motives now seemed... false in light of 

his now palpable pain. He was a good man--she knew that. 

Some people from New Krypton would have taken advantage of 

the powers granted to Kryptonians on Earth, but Kal-El had 

not. 

Instead, he used his powers to help wherever he could with 

no thought of tangible reward. She admired him for that... 

and envied him in that he had found someone to love. 

Despite her protestations to the contrary and her rather 

predatory thoughts concerning him, she had begun to believe 

it was as Ching said--she did not really love Kal-El; it 

was just a crush.

She was within her rights to demand more of him... they 

*were* married after all. Somehow, she just wasn't sure 

what she wanted from him personally anymore...

****

Lois reached into the backseat of the Jeep, carefully 

unfastened the straps of Joseph's car seat, and picked him 

up. She grabbed her briefcase and purse and threw them over 

the other shoulder before she locked up the jeep and headed 

to the elevator. Gently, she pushed Joseph's hair back from 

his forehead and hugged him tightly as she entered the 

elevator and pushed the button for the lobby.

Joseph looked at his mother with wide eyes as his thumb 

began to travel toward his mouth. He reached for Lois's 

hair instead and grabbed a handful of her long tresses. 

"Why Mommy sad?" he asked.

Lois smiled sadly and kissed Joseph on the cheek. "Sweetie, 

I just miss Daddy."

Joseph threw his arms around her neck and gave her a hug. 

"Jo'eph miss Daddy too." He looked at her through solemn 

brown eyes. "Daddy come back," he said. His face broke into 

a sunny smile. "I love you." He planted a wet kiss on her 

cheek and laid his head against her shoulder.

"I love you too, scout," she said quietly and held him 

closer to her as the elevator opened into the lobby of the 

Planet. She walked slowly across the lobby toward the 

Planet's daycare facility and went inside. Reluctantly, she 

walked over to Ms. Linda and began to hand Joseph to her, 

but Joseph tightened his arms around her neck.

"Mommy no go? Mommy 'tay wiv Jo'eph?" he asked hopefully.

"Sweetheart, I have to go to work, I'll be back in a little 

while." Lois said, dropping a gentle kiss on his forehead.

"Jo'eph 'tay wiv Mommy?" he asked, as he gave her a puppy 

dog look.

"Scout," Lois began with a sigh, "you go with Ms. Linda and 

play with the toys, ok? If you need me, I'll be here really 

fast."

Joseph stuck his lip out in a pout for a minute and hugged 

his mother again. "I love you, Mommy," he said before 

loosening his grip and allowing Ms. Linda to take him.

"I love you too, Joseph." Lois said quietly before she 

quickly strode out of the daycare and headed toward the 

elevator. She pressed the elevator call button and waited 

impatiently for it to arrive. Finally, the doors opened in 

front of her and she hurried inside and pressed the button 

for the newsroom. Lois propped her body against the side of 

the elevator, sagging against the wall.

Resolutely, Lois refused to give into the tears that still 

threatened to fall. She felt as if she had been crying for 

a very long time and didn't want to give in again. Instead, 

she forced herself to think of the holographic message she 

had received the previous night as well as Clark's message 

to her. It would only be a matter of time before she could 

retrieve the globe from their safety deposit box and find 

out what Lara had meant by the cryptic message on the ship.

How could she communicate with Clark when, by now, he was 

thousands of light years away from her? It simply wasn't 

possible. At least, she didn't think it was... She felt a 

warm, comforting feeling pass through her. It was almost as 

if... Lois gasped and straightened up. Maybe there was 

something in the messages Lara had left for her after all; 

if she could feel Clark's love for her while he continued 

to travel further and further from their small family, than 

anything was possible. She squared her shoulders and strode 

out into the newsroom. 

****

Clark closed the journal with an audible snap and stuck the 

pen in it. Carefully, he popped part of the back off of 

the wardrobe and slipped it in the compartment that he had 

discovered the night before. He wasn't sure just how far 

he could trust Zara; the almost predatory looks she had 

been giving him made him cautious enough to hide all of the 

important things, like photographs of his family, that he 

had brought with him. He wasn't exactly sure what had 

prompted this new cautionary behavior, but he had a feeling 

that Zara wanted to create a rift between himself and 

Lois... Zara wanted to take Lois's place...

Sooner or later, he would have to set her straight, but she 

had not yet done anything that he could confront her about. 

Clark closed the compartment, walked around to the front of 

the wardrobe, and pulled it open. He rifled through its 

contents, grimacing as he came upon some particularly 

ornate garments. 

He sighed in relief as he came upon a set of plain clothes 

much like the ones he had worn for practice the day before. 

Quickly, he dropped his new mental shields and scanned the 

area for people as he had been taught. Finding no one, he 

pulled on the clean clothes and began to tidy up the room. 

He had been told that Ching would come for him when the 

time came, and he wanted to be ready... 

****

Perry stood at the door to his office and watched Lois 

work. He grimaced in sympathy as he noticed the black 

smudges underneath her eyes... It was obvious to him that 

she hadn't gotten much sleep the night before. The last 

time he had seen her this broken up about something had 

been years before... when Clark had... 'died'. He knew 

that there were a few things that he needed to talk to her 

about today. He had decided, however, that it would be 

best to let her settle in before he told her of this 

decision. He glanced at his watch and changed his mind, 

she had been there long enough; she needed to know right 

away.

"Lois," he called, "in my office, *now*!"

"Coming, Perry," Lois said. She stood up, reluctantly made 

her way over to Perry's office, and walked inside.

Perry ushered her over to the couch, walked over to the 

door, and shut it tightly. He pulled up a chair in front 

of the couch and seated himself in it. "Lois, honey, how 

are you holding up?" he asked gently, concern written over 

his face.

"I miss him," she said quietly. "I've always been able to 

feel his presence... I know it may sound a little silly, 

but we've always had this... connection. Even in the 

beginning when I was so horrible to him, I felt it... It's 

only gotten stronger over the years, but..." her voice 

caught on the word as a lump formed in her throat. "It's 

getting harder to feel him..." she choked out. Lois drew in 

a deep breath. "I know he's coming home, but I can't help 

but worry..."

Perry moved to the couch and put his arm comfortingly 

around her shoulders. "Awww, honey. It will be okay. You 

know that Clark would walk on water for you or drown 

trying... So, what are you gonna do?" Perry pulled a 

handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her. 

Lois looked down at the handkerchief and started playing 

with the edges. "Just... Keep going. Clark will come home; 

I just have to wait until he can... Until then, I just have 

to keep breathing and take things one day at a time." Lois 

looked up from the handkerchief; her eyes brimming with 

unshed tears. "I need him, Perry, I need him..." she 

whispered hoarsely. 

Perry patted her on the back and hugged her gently. 

"There's something I need to talk to you about, honey. I 

want you to wrap up all of your current investigations, and 

then I'm offering you an assistant editorship position 

until Clark comes back... I promised him to watch out for 

you; he'd kill me if I let anything happen to you or the 

kids. After you file those stories, you're officially 

desk-bound."

"I should have expected this," Lois grumbled.

"Now, Lois you know that this assignment would be coming in 

a month or so, anyway... and without Clark here to back you 

up, I'd just feel better knowing that you're not out 

getting into trouble. Besides, this job has regular hours, 

so you can spend more time with the kids..." Perry looked 

at her anxiously and hoped that she wouldn't put up too 

much of a fuss; he just wanted to ensure that she would 

still be there when Clark came home.

Slowly, Lois nodded her acquiescence. Normally, she would 

have argued with him, but she was simply too tired at the 

moment to fight him over it. It was company policy for her 

to be desk-bound at six months anyway... Perry had just 

grounded her a month and a half early. "Is that 

everything, Perry?" she asked quietly.

"Not...quite," he began hesitantly. "I was wondering if... 

maybe... one day in the next week or so... I could borrow 

Joseph and take him to the park for a long lunch... I 

figure that he'll be missing his daddy... and I want to 

spend some time with him... I'd like to spend some one-on-

one time with Kiley too if that's all right... I know they 

miss Clark."

"Thank you," Lois said softly as tears threatened to spill 

out of her eyes. "You know that you're on the approved 

list to pick the kids up..."

Without a word, Perry carefully gathered Lois into his arms 

and hugged her gently. A spark of anger flared up in him 

against the New Kryptonians who had so callously torn this 

family apart. All he could do was to offer comfort to his 

surrogate daughter while her husband got closer and closer 

to what might be his final destination.

****

Lord Kav-Nor growled in frustration as his spy reported 

that Lord Kal-El was en route to New Krypton. His 

movements were now curtailed; it would more difficult to 

use Kal-El's family against him... without the benefit of 

the locator chip and the name Kal-El had used on Earth, 

they would be impossible to find among the masses of people 

who lived there. At least his enemy had decided to come to 

him; it was much more satisfying to eliminate the 

competition himself rather than by proxy. New Krypton would 

be under his absolute control. He would show the rest of 

the universe how sublime darkness could be... and then 

bring it, too, under his iron rule...

****

Martha sat at her kitchen table, playing with a cup of 

herbal tea. They had arrived home a few hours before... 

and she had yet to do anything but sit and stare at the now 

stone-cold tea. She knew that her boy had made the right 

decision. After all, with the threat to the children, no 

other choice could have been made...

Yet her eyes filled with tears as she thought of a world 

where the happy little boy she had raised could... It was 

bad enough that he had been forced into leaving the family 

that he loved so much behind, but combined with the fact 

that he could actually die... Martha shook the intolerable 

thought out of her head and stared blindly off into space. 

Her boy was coming home. She had to believe that. He 

would be back from this trip to New Krypton in a few months 

and they would welcome him with open arms. Her baby 

*would* come back to them. 

Abruptly, she stood up and ran into her studio. She 

grabbed her palette and some brushes and began to 

meticulously work on a painting of their family that she 

had started last week. Lovingly, she carefully began to 

fill in the shadows around the painstakingly painted 

figures. She had intended to give the painting to Lois and 

Clark for Christmas, but had changed her mind with recent 

developments... as soon as she could finish, she would give 

it to her daughter-in-law...

****

Ching led Clark to the practice ring to begin lessons in 

self-defense. Because of his promise to Lady Lois, Ching 

was determined to teach Kal-El to defend himself better 

than the majority of the nobles on the council. He 

wouldn't put it past Nor to try and assassinate Kal-El 

before the official acknowledgment of his rule. 

Unfortunately, unless Kal-El was the type that would insure 

fanatic devotion in his corps of bodyguards, men could 

still be bribed to allow a hired killer to slip through... 

By the time he was finished, he hoped to have Kal-El able 

to hold off an assassin long enough for help to arrive.

Ching hoped it would be enough; from Kal-El's memories, he 

knew he did not wish to face Lady Lois when she was angry. 

As they entered the practice room, he closed the door and 

turned to Clark. "Kal-El," he began, "What do you know of 

self-defense? That is, what do you know that doesn't 

involve superpowers? New Krypton, like Krypton, has a red 

sun..."

Clark smiled as a joyful memory surfaced. "I know some 

martial arts... my wife made me take lessons..." he 

answered with a far away look in his eyes. He remembered 

that night as if it were yesterday... Intergang had gained 

possession of kryptonite and tried to kill him... again. 

He had been lucky that Jimmy had been snooping around, 

discovered where they had been holding him, and disposed of 

the kryptonite... 

When he got home, Lois had rushed over and hugged him 

tightly... babbling about how worried she'd been. She 

elicited a promise from him that night to accompany her to 

her Tae Kwon Do classes and learn how to defend himself... 

just in case. Lois had buried her head in his chest and 

murmured something about how she didn't wish their baby to 

grow up without a father...

"Lord Kal-El... Lord Kal-El!" Ching's insistent voice 

interrupted his happy memory of the evening that Lois 

accidentally let slip the news of her pregnancy with 

Kiley...

"Yes?" he answered with a sigh.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your memories, m'lord, but today I 

must find out what you know and teach you more... I 

promised your wife that I would make sure to return you in 

one piece... and I have no wish to incur her wrath..." 

Ching said gently.

Clark nodded mutely and began to follow Ching's 

instructions.

****

Lois parked in front of the First Bank of Metropolis and 

went inside to fetch the globe. Carefully, she opened the 

safety deposit box and pulled out the locked metal box that 

lay inside it. She stuck the box in her briefcase, closed 

the safety deposit box, and left the bank. Lucy had 

offered to pick up Kiley from preschool, so she had time to 

find out what messages Lara had recorded upon the globe for 

her. Lois climbed into the jeep and left for home. 

A few minutes later, she walked into the master bedroom, 

closed the door, and sat in the middle of the bed with the 

box in front of her. She held the key in her hand, looking 

at the box in front of her with a bit of trepidation. 

Decisively, Lois jammed the key in the lock and with a 

fluid motion, pushed the lid up. 

Lois eyed the glowing globe for a moment... As much as she 

wanted the information recorded on it, she felt a jolt of 

nervousness about handling it when it was glowing... She 

drew in a deep breath and snatched the globe from the box.

The globe began to hum and levitate over her hand as a 

hologram issued forth from it. The image was that of Lara, 

Clark's biological mother. Lara's image seemed to look 

straight at Lois before she began to speak. "My darling 

daughter," the image began, "If you are viewing this 

message it means that my son has been called away and you 

have discovered the message on the ship that carried him to 

Earth. It also means that you are his Kreh'kle'vshta. 

This globe and the messages upon the ship have been encoded 

to respond to your touch... the bond between you and my son 

enables this device to recognize you."

"My daughter, there are some things that you must know 

about the Kreh'kle'vshta bond. Children from the union of 

two such bonded people are said to be special--their 

abilities and gifts tend to develop earlier. Your little 

ones will be extraordinary. I only wish I could meet you 

and possibly even my grandchildren." The image of Lara 

smiled sadly before continuing.

"No matter the distance, it is possible for you to speak to 

Kal. Kryptonians are telepathic. While Earth humans are 

generally not, the Kreh'kle'vshta bond will enhance any 

latent abilities that exist. Though the bond is rare, it 

is well known from our history that those without the gift 

may still speak mind-to-mind with a telepathic partner... 

My daughter, I will tell you how this may be 

accomplished... in this manner you may talk to my son...

"Clear your mind, Daughter. Clear your mind and focus on 

Kal. Keep that focus and look within yourself for the 

Kreh'kle'vshta bond--the link between you. Once you have 

found it, focus on it and concentrate on talking to him. 

Send your thoughts on this link and he will hear you. 

"This connection will remain with you always... It is said 

that the Kreh'kle'vshta bond remains in place after death; 

it is simply recycled in the next life. You and my son are 

now connected forever... Remember my instructions so that 

the lines of communication remain open. Take care of my 

son..."

The image faded from view as the globe went dark. Lois 

stared at it for a moment before locking it back in the box 

and placing the box on the dresser. She settled herself on 

the bed again and began to attempt to follow Lara's 

instructions.

****

Clark lay face down upon the bed in his quarters. He was 

supposed to be resting, but all of his thoughts were turned 

inside... to his heart, to Lois, to their children. He was 

tired. Ching had ran him around the practice room all 

morning and finally sent him back to rest. He had stripped 

off his sweat-soaked tunic and collapsed upon the bed. 

Restlessly, he pulled at the waistband of the too-tight 

pants they had provided... his suits were much more 

comfortable than the clothes he now wore...

He rolled over and winced slightly as one of his muscles 

protested the movement. He had only experienced soreness 

like this after being attacked with Kryptonite... a day and 

a half without the effects of the yellow sun were already 

starting to make its results known. He still had a few of 

his powers, but if the soreness of his muscles after a 

morning's exertion were any indication, by the time he 

arrived on New Krypton they would have completely 

dissipated.

Clark closed his eyes and began to imagine Lois, as she 

would be at that moment. His imagination and memory took 

him back to a happier time. His mouth curved into a smile 

as, in his mind's eye, he watched her bend over her 

keyboard typing furiously to finish a story before 

deadline. He imagined Joseph eating lunch, smearing it all 

over his face. He watched Kiley playing on the preschool 

playground with the other kids... 

With a happy sigh, he surrendered himself to his memories 

and began to relive the last night with Lois. The memory 

was bittersweet, but remembering that night hurt far less 

than the emptiness caused by her absence from his side. 

Clark? he heard. He sat up suddenly, not quite 

believing the voice that echoed through his head... his 

heart leaped, it sounded like... Lois. But it couldn't 

be the little voice in the back of his skull argued. Lois 

is on Earth... Clark? he heard again. 

Clark ran his hand through his hair before answering. 

Lois? He sent incredulously. Honey, is that you? 

How are you doing this? 

Clark, I miss you so much! I love you. It has something 

to do with the fact that we're soulmates... Lois sent 

with some effort. It really wasn't easy to talk to him 

like this.

I miss and love you, too. Clark started as he heard 

the chime that signaled someone knocking at his door. 

Lois, honey, I have to go. There's someone knocking at 

my door. I love you.

I love you, too, sweetheart.

Clark felt the telepathic link waver and break off. The 

feeling of Lois's presence by his side lessened. He sat up 

and sighed a little before answering the door. "Come in." 

He called.

Ching entered the room. "Milord," he began, "The Council 

wishes to speak with you." Ching rummaged in the wardrobe 

and pulled out a set of slightly more formal clothing than 

Kal-El had was wearing. Quickly, he laid them out on the 

bed. "You must hurry, milord. They will be waiting to 

have speech with you in an hour." Ching turned and walked 

toward the door. "I will be back for you in a few 

minutes." He walked out the door and headed back to the 

control room.

Clark sighed deeply and pushed himself off the bed. 

Talking to Lois had helped, but the last thing he wanted to 

do was speak to the men responsible for taking him away 

from his family. Slowly, he made his way to the sonic 

shower cubical to get rid of the traces of the exertions of 

the day. A few minutes later, he returned to his sleeping 

chamber to pull on the clothes that Ching had laid out for 

him.

He grimaced as he fastened the collar; it was far too tight 

for his liking... in fact the entire outfit was a bit 

snug... Clark walked over to the mirror and combed his 

hair. He was beginning to really dislike the ridiculous 

clothing they insisted that he wear. He tugged at the 

collar and wished that he were home in Lois's arms.

He walked over to the armchair that sat in the corner and 

picked up the hand-held computer that rested on the table 

beside it. Slowly, he began to read through the English 

translation of a Kryptonian law primer that Ching had 

provided. Ching would be back for him soon to take him to 

talk to the Council.

****

Kav-Nor paced back and forth in the front room of his 

mansion, deep in thought. He had to gain control... as he 

stood in thought Kal-El sped towards New Krypton. There 

had to be a way to stop Kal-El from taking the throne. He 

scowled as he contemplated the thought of his most hated 

enemy having power over him. 

"Father!" he heard a small voice call. Kav-Nor turned 

around and scooped up his seven-year old son, Tak-Nor. He 

held his child close for a moment before a smile crept over 

his face. He settled the child on his hip and beamed down 

at him.

"Tak, you've just made me very happy... How would you like 

to get a new... playmate?"

Tak looked trustingly up at his father through big blue 

eyes. "I'd like that, Father." He said quietly. It was 

always best to agree with Father... he tended to hit Mama 

when she disagreed with him.

Nor smiled evilly; he had to contact the Council 

immediately.

****

Perry smiled to himself as he held Joseph securely in his 

arms and began to walk towards the front doors of the Daily 

Planet. The daycare facility employees had been surprised 

to see him; he rarely picked up one of the Kent children... 

especially not in the middle of the day. He hugged Joseph 

gently as he began to walk to a nearby park.

"Gan'pa Pewy?" A little voice interrupted his thoughts. 

"Where we goin'?"

"Well, scout," Perry began, "I thought we'd go to the park 

and feed the pigeons."

"Jo'eph like birdies." Joseph buried his face in Perry's 

shoulder for a moment before turning to look at Perry. 

"When Daddy come home?" Joseph asked.

"He'll be home soon, scout." Perry said as he lifted his 

hand to stroke the child's hair.

Joseph's thumb found its way to his mouth as his other arm 

crept around Perry's neck. "I miss Daddy," he said around 

his thumb.

"I know you do, kiddo," Perry said as Joseph sat up a bit 

straighter and began to look around. It wasn't long before 

they reached the park. Carefully, Perry set the child down 

and sat upon a nearby bench to watch. It was rare that he 

found time to spend with little Joseph like this, but he 

always enjoyed watching the child try and catch the 

pigeons. He smiled as he watched Joseph walk quietly up 

behind the bird and try to capture it.

"C'mere, Joseph," he called. He reached into his pocket 

and pulled out a sandwich baggie full of crumbs. "I've got 

food for the pigeons."

Joseph grinned winningly, came over, and thrust his hand 

into the bag that Perry held open for him. "Tank you, 

Gan'pa Pewy," he said happily.

Perry leaned forward. "Scout, what are you gonna do if you 

catch one of the pigeons?" he asked.

Joseph looked at him blankly and ran off to stalk the 

pigeons once more. It was obvious that Joseph didn't know 

what he'd do with a bird if he caught one... Perry supposed 

that the fun was in the chase; just as his fun was in 

attempting to catch Joseph. He didn't know what he'd do if 

he actually caught him; but he had to try...

He had missed out on so much with his own children and now 

his grandchildren that he wanted to catch every moment he 

could with the grandchildren that Lois and Clark had 

provided him with. He hoped long after he was gone that 

Kiley, Joseph and any other little ones that his heart-

children produced would fondly remember times spent with 

himself and Alice. He'd have to remember to convince Lois 

to allow the kids to come over and play soon; Alice missed 

them terribly after a few weeks separation.

Perry sat in the warm sunshine for a while longer, giving 

Joseph more breadcrumbs when the toddler ran out. After a 

few more minutes, he looked at his watch and called to 

Joseph. "C'mon, scout! Time to go!" Joseph glanced back at 

him as a mischievous smile spread over his face. Giggling, 

he ran in the opposite direction. Perry chuckled and gave 

chase. Joseph stopped every once and a while and turned to 

make sure Perry was still on his trail.

"Gan'pa Pewy come get Jo'eph!" he called.

Perry caught up and swung Joseph into the air as the little 

boy squealed in delight. He pulled up Joseph's shirt, blew 

on his tummy, and grinned at the laughter coming from the 

little boy. His grandson would be okay... He knew that 

Joseph missed Clark, but during the child's short life, 

Clark had gone away for short periods of time before... In 

Joseph's mind, it was just like the newswriters convention 

in Washington that he had sent Clark to the month before. 

"Scout, it's time to go back to play with your sister," 

Perry said gently as he headed in the direction of the 

Planet.

"Jo'eph want down," he demanded, "Jo'eph walk."

Perry chuckled and put Joseph down. Joseph flashed a 100-

megawatt smile at Perry and walked alongside him, 

attempting to stretch his little legs into Perry's longer 

steps. Suddenly, Joseph stopped and threw his arms around 

Perry's leg. "I love you," he said with another smile. He 

let go as they approached the street.

"Joseph," Perry began holding out his hand, "Hold my hand 

while we cross the street."

"NO!" Joseph said, stomping his foot. "Jo'eph hold *own* 

hand." Joseph slipped his right hand into his left and 

started across the street. Perry rushed over to the child 

and snatched him away just as a car zipped over the place 

that the child had been standing just moments before.

"Joseph Samuel Kent! Don't you *ever* scare me like that 

again!" Perry hugged the child close. "You can hold your 

own hand, all right, but we're crossing the street 

together." Perry carefully crossed the street and made his 

way back to the Daily Planet, thankful that he had managed 

to catch his grandson in time for disaster to be averted. 

He'd have to tell Lois of this recent development... Just 

in case Joseph decided to try and cross the street by 

himself again... It seemed as if Lois wasn't the only one 

who had a tendency to jump in without checking the water 

level first.

****

Clark stood between Ching and Zara in front of the view 

screen. Warily, he watched the men who sat upon the 

Council Seat. The only person he completely trusted in 

this crazy place was Ching; the rest of them were at fault 

for his departure from home. It wasn't usually in his 

nature to be suspicious of people he hadn't met, but 

somehow his suspicion seemed warranted if he were to make 

it home alive.

"Kal-El, my name is Xek-Lo," a white haired man began in 

perfect English. "Thank you for coming to help us in our 

time of desperate need. Lord Kav-Nor is marshaling forces 

even as we speak. With you coming, he will have to stand 

down for the present... Law and tradition govern war, like 

everything else in our society..."

Xek-Lo's gaze softened as he looked upon Clark. "We are 

grateful that you survived to return to us as the leader 

you were born to be. When you arrive home, Kal-El, the 

remaining members of your extended family wish to meet you, 

our lost child."

Clark faced the Council and carefully assessed its members. 

"Sirs," he began, wishing to make his position clear from 

the beginning. "I will assist you in your quest for a 

peaceful New Krypton... But I have a life on Earth that I 

must return to. I knew nothing of any of this until Lady 

Zara and Lt. Ching approached me. My wife and my children 

await my return to Earth, and I have promised to return."

"Kal-El, we eagerly await your arrival... and we understand 

your position... Hurry to us to prevent Kav-Nor from 

tearing our world apart." Xek-Lo said.

With that the transmission cut off, leaving the trio in 

silence. "Why and how did he learn to speak English?" Clark 

asked finally.

"Xek-Lo is the only member of the Council that does; it's 

why he was the one to speak..." Zara began. "He is 

something of a linguist and studied your language once it 

was found out where you had been sent... We're not even 

sure where he managed to learn it, or even why he did, but 

we think it was just in case we ever found you... Don't 

worry about learning Kryptonian; your Aunt has the gift of 

Memory... she can give you the language when we arrive."

Clark nodded slowly to show he understood. The world and 

culture he came from seemed stranger the more he got to 

know about them... 

****

Lord Nor stood in front of the door to the Council chamber, 

awaiting admittance. He had come to make his proposal 

today... Victory would be so much sweeter if it was given 

to him by the rule of law. He could always dispense with 

the Council once he had consolidated his power. Power and 

how it was used were the most important things.

Pain and Power. These things drove him to great lengths. 

Pain and darkness in particular fascinated him. People were 

his pawns. Their only purpose was to serve and amuse him. 

He found their pain particularly amusing... 

He had never understood the wording behind the traditional 

covenant. To him, endless all-encompassing darkness was 

nothing to be afraid of. He loved the feel of being 

surrounded by it; he loved feeling its arms wrapped around 

him. Soon he would introduce the entire world to his joy. 

They would embrace it and help him initiate the rest of the 

universe into his darkness.

****

"Kal-El," Zara began quietly, "Come, I will show you the 

way back to your quarters... I am sure that you must have 

questions about your family on New Krypton." Zara headed to 

the door with Clark trailing behind.

She glanced over at her silent companion, mentally 

cataloging what she had to tell him. "Kal-El... Clark, you 

have some family left on New Krypton... Your mother's 

sister... Kyrin-Wys. She has a daughter named Kirim and a 

son named Grsek... and your Uncle, Ganul-Wys, is on the 

Council. Is there anything else you want to know about your 

family?" Zara looked at him expectantly. At the mention of 

the word 'family' she saw pain flash in Kal-El's eyes.

"No," he answered hoarsely. "My family is back on Earth... 

where I belong."

Zara looked at him worriedly. They needed him on New 

Krypton... and with the chip still in his arm Nor would be 

able to find both him and his wife and children. Silently, 

she led him to his quarters. "Here are your quarters, Kal-

El... If you want or need anything, just call... "

Clark looked at her sharply. He still didn't quite trust 

her, but somehow he sensed that she was telling the truth. 

"Thank you," he said quietly before he turned and entered 

his quarters. He loosened the collar of the tunic and 

dropped down on to the bed. He missed her. He wanted Lois 

beside him...

Zara leaned against the wall and dropped her shields. With 

the way he was broadcasting his feelings, she needed to see 

if she couldn't manage to throw some shields around his 

emotions... Nor had strong empaths in his employ that could 

use Kal-El's emotional state against him... She carefully 

'looked' into the room behind her and was sucked into the 

maelstrom that occupied his heart. 

Zara slumped against the wall, shocked at what she found... 

Kal-El's emotions raged through her consciousness. His 

loneliness, pain, and grief over his absence assailed 

her... But at the center was great love for his wife, 

children and parents on Earth. Quickly, she threw up a 

shield around him, linking it to draw power from his own 

gifts. 

Zara knocked hesitantly on Kal-El's door, and was startled 

when he answered almost immediately. "For what it is worth, 

Kal-El, I am sorry we had to drag you into this mess."

Zara turned and walked away quickly, leaving a bewildered 

Kal-El standing in the doorway and vowed to talk to Ching 

about teaching Kal-El to shield the empathic gift that he 

had to possess in order to draw her in...

****

Perry dropped Joseph off in the daycare center and went 

upstairs to his office. He sank down in one of his office 

chairs and dropped his head into his hands. If he had been 

one second later, Joseph would be seriously injured at best 

and maybe even dead. He knew exactly how lucky he had been. 

He didn't want to add to her pain ... but Lois had to be 

told. He sighed deeply before heading over to the door.

"Lois, I need to see you in my office," he called.

"Coming, Perry," Lois called. She pushed away from her desk 

and walked over to his office. She had come straight back 

to the Planet in a happier mood after talking to Clark.

Perry shut the door behind her and motioned for her to take 

a seat. "Lois, honey... I thought you should know what 

happened today when I took Joseph out..." He cleared his 

throat and looked down at the floor uncomfortably. "On our 

way back from the park ... he said he could hold his own 

hand; he wouldn't let me... and he ran out into the 

street... If I had been any slower..." Perry trailed off.

Lois closed her eyes for a moment, attempting to clear the 

images of her baby boy being hurt out of her head. She took 

a deep breath... "Is he okay, Perry?" she asked urgently.

"He's fine, Lois." Perry answered. "I just can't shake the 

thought of what might have happened."

Lois stood up and laid her hand on his arm. "But it didn't, 

Perry. Joseph is safe and so are you. Don't torture 

yourself with might-have-beens." She looked at him 

pleadingly before continuing. "Perry, I've been thinking... 

could I still work as an assistant editor from Smallville? 

Not right away, but I'd like to be there for the baby's 

birth. Normally, that wouldn't be a problem, but since I 

have to fly commercial with Clark gone... I mean, with 

faxes and email, it would be just as easy to edit articles 

there as here... And I wouldn't have to worry about Joseph 

or Kiley wandering out into the street when I start blowing 

up like a balloon again..." she finished.

Perry looked at Lois consideringly for a moment before 

replying. "I don't see why not," he said finally. "So, when 

are you thinking of leaving us?"

Lois looked down at her hands. She knew that airlines 

didn't like to let women on the planes after their sixth 

month, so it would have to be soon; she was almost five 

months pregnant as it was and liable to pop out any day 

now. "Two weeks?" She said with a question evident in her 

voice.

Perry nodded, stepped forward, and pulled her up into an 

embrace. "All right, darlin', two weeks... Have you told 

your parents that Clark isn't here yet?"

"No... I haven't," Lois said uncomfortably. "I mean, 

they're back together, but my mother is still likely to 

overreact..."

"Darlin'," Perry began, "you have to tell them, sooner or 

later they're going to come to visit..."

"I know, Perry, I know." Lois began. "Tonight. I promise," 

she said with a sigh.

****

Zara stared out the window and sighed. She had been sitting 

in the same place for the better part of an hour, trying to 

figure out what she should do about Kal-El. His emotions 

had surprised her... while she had known that he missed his 

wife and their family, she hadn't realized the depth of 

feeling that lay behind it.

For the most part, members of the noble class among her 

people simply weren't like that. Marriages were arranged at 

birth with little thought of love involved. In her case, 

her guardians had even encouraged her infatuation by 

telling stories of Kal-El that probably had very little 

basis in reality.

One thing she knew for sure, she and her people had no 

right to put him through more pain than he was already in. 

Zara vowed to do her best to see that his time on New 

Krypton was at least relatively happy... and that he would 

be able to go home as quickly as possible.

****

Lois sat on the sofa and stared at the telephone with 

dread. Ellen had mellowed over the years, but she was still 

afraid that her mother would deliver a lecture on how men 

couldn't be trusted. She picked up the telephone with 

trepidation and began to dial. 

"Hello, Mother?" Lois began. "I... There's something I need 

to talk to you and Daddy about... Perry sent Clark away on 

an undercover assignment... No, we don't know how long... 

*Mother* he has *not* deserted me and he is *not* cheating 

on me. Clark would *never* do that! The kids and I are 

going to go to Smallville for the baby's birth... It may 

take Clark that long to crack this story wide open... No 

Mother, I am *not* trying to run away from you. Tell Daddy 

I said hello. I have to go now. Bye." She hung up the phone 

in relief. Now that her parents had been informed, it was 

time for communication of a different kind...

Lois walked into Kiley's room, dropped a soft kiss on the 

child's head, and pulled the blankets back up from where 

the little girl had kicked them. She stood there for a 

moment and watched her daughter sleep with her bear under 

one arm and her rag doll under the other. She turned and 

walked out of the room, carefully shutting the door behind 

her before entering Joseph's room to check on him.

She walked over, knelt beside his bed, and smoothed his 

hair back from his face before kissing him on the cheek. He 

looked so sweet and peaceful when sleeping that it was 

sometimes hard to remember what a holy terror he often was 

when awake. Gently, she tugged his thumb out of his mouth 

and covered his arm up with the blanket. Lois rose and 

quietly tiptoed out of the room and across the hall into 

the master bedroom, shutting the door behind her.

Lois settled herself comfortably in the middle of their bed 

and leaned back against the pillows. Clark? She sent 

with a grunt of effort and waited for an answer. She hoped 

that this would work a second time; as long as he answered 

her, she knew he was safe.

Lois! his voice echoed in her head clear as a bell. I 

don't know what you said to Ching, but he seems determined 

to make sure I can defend myself half-asleep with one arm 

tied behind my back

Lois sent laughter back to him... talking like this was 

easier the second time around. Sweetheart, at least we 

know that he's taking his promise to keep you safe 

seriously... 

Clark answered. So what have you been doing, Lois? I wish 

I were there... he sent wistfully.

Clark, I talked to Perry... We'll be in Smallville in two 

weeks. Hurry home, sweetheart. I miss you.

I miss you too, honey. Love you... I have to go... kiss 

Kiley and Joseph for me.

I will. Love you too. With those last words, Lois 

cuddled down under the covers and drifted off to sleep. She 

spent that night and many nights to come happily dreaming 

of being with her Clark and sleeping in his arms...

****

"Lords of the Council. I, Lord Kav-Nor, stand ready to 

attack the capitol city, Ka'tra'anl. I will stand down my 

forces and send them home if a compromise is reached as to 

the true leader of New Krypton. We as a people know nothing 

of Kal-El or the world he was raised on. He is as alien to 

us as we are to him."

"Only one raised in our culture might possibly understand 

it. Therefore, I come before the Honorable Council today 

with a proposition. Let there be an alliance between the 

House of El and the House of Nor. My sources say that Kal-

El has a four-cycle old daughter... the same age as my 

son." 

"Such unions are not unknown in our illustrious history... 

I... rather Lady Zara and I will rule as regents for them 

until they are of age, and Kal-El may return to his life on 

Earth, leaving his daughter here to rule. By ancient law, 

Zara is her legal mother, so she would have as much 

protection as any other noble child would on our world... 

Zara may act as an advisor to the children until they come 

of legal age."

"Milords, please consider this proposal... for continuing 

peace on New Krypton." Nor bowed to the Council and left 

the council chamber. He had one of the Lords in his pocket. 

Soon his new plan would be set into motion. After all, 

children died so easily... Kal-El, his son, and his 

concubine could be taken care of afterward to further 

eliminate any claims on his seat of power. The concubine 

could be pregnant after all... Lady Zara would be easily 

disposed of after the children were out of the way... 

Becoming First Lord shouldn't be that hard once the Council 

agreed to his plan...

****

As soon as Lord Nor cleared the Council Chamber, the 

discussion commenced. The head of the Council, Lord Sarn-

Ra, spoke first. "Nor's proposal makes a kind of elegant 

sense, but we must not forget who we are dealing with. Kav-

Nor is, to be frank, insane. He should have been placed in 

the care of the mind-healers years ago."

"Such illnesses of the mind are said to be inherited... can 

we really afford to take the chance that his son will be as 

dangerously unbalanced? If we consent to this union, it is 

very possible that in twenty years we might be dealing with 

a lunatic for a First Lord." Sarn-Ra looked around for a 

moment. "Lord Fryn-Trey, you may speak next."

"I agree with Sarn-Ra that the idea has merit, but we are 

forgetting a few things. The child is half Terran... While 

we are almost genetically identical, Terrans are much more 

fragile than we are. Their planet not only has a yellow 

sun, but lighter gravity. My studies have shown that the 

Kryptonian genes are 99.9% likely to become the dominant 

ones, but there is a slight possibility that the child 

would not survive the radiation from our red sun or the 

effects of our heavier gravity." Trey looked at the rest of 

the Counselors seriously. 

"I also oppose taking the child away from her biological 

mother and the only home she has ever known. We have 

already taken her father away from her... must she lose one 

parent or the other? From Lt. Ching's observations, Kal-El 

is not likely to leave his daughter here with us either. As 

long as she remains, so will he." Trey finished.

"So noted," Sarn-Ra said. "Lord Ganul-Wys you are 

recognized."

"According to our laws, both parents must consent to such 

an alliance," he began. "Neither Lord Kal-El nor Lady Zara 

have consented to this. From the reports, it is highly 

unlikely that my nephew would consent to marrying his 

daughter to Nor's son. Zara also is unlikely to do so... to 

grant Nor access to the child is tantamount to signing her 

death warrant. Nor has already kidnapped Kal-El's children 

once. By all rights, we should have left bodyguards on 

Earth with them. After all, they are of the royal household 

and should be under our protection." Ganul-Wys fiddled with 

the edge of his robe... He should have sent bodyguards with 

Zara and Ching to leave with his nephew's family. He hoped 

that he could still remedy the situation. 

"The alliance is a good idea, but placing Nor at the head 

of our government as regent is not. The binding ceremony 

between Zara and Kal-El has not yet been solemnized. To 

agree to any of this now would be extremely premature. I 

move that we table the proposal and send bodyguards to Kal-

El's family to protect them lest Nor make any more attempts 

on their lives."

"An excellent proposal," Sarn-Ra began, "Lord Jen-Mai, I 

believe you have something to say?"

Jen-Mai stood and faced his fellow Lords. He could not let 

them dismiss Lord Nor's request. After all, Nor... knew 

certain things about him that could get him exiled at the 

very least if they were to see the light of day. The money 

Nor gave him for supporting him in open council didn't hurt 

either. "Milords, all the points made have been excellent 

ones... But what better way is there to protect Lord Kal-

El's firstborn child than to have her with us? 

"The new quantum singularity drive has been shown to be 

faster and more effective than the old hyperlight drives 

and should be able to reach Earth in two weeks. She would 

arrive here soon after her father and be under our 

protection. We can also leave bodyguards with Kal-El's 

family to insure that Nor cannot attack them again." Jen-

Mai sat down quickly.

"Does anyone else have anything they wish to say?" Sarn-Ra 

asked, looking around the chamber. "Since it seems no one 

has anything else to say, we will put it to a vote. All in 

favor of tabling the alliance for the time being please 

show by the uplifted hand." He looked around the room and 

noticed that all of the counselors had their hands 

raised... still, procedure must be followed... 

"Any opposed by the same sign." Not a single hand was 

raised. "All in favor of bringing Lord Kal-El's daughter to 

New Krypton for her own protection and leaving bodyguards 

with his family, please show by the uplifted hand." All 

hands in the Council chamber raised... except one. "Any 

opposed by the same sign." Tentatively, Lord Fryn-Trey 

raised his hand. 

"Yes, Lord Trey?" Sarn-Ra asked.

"Lords of the Council. I must once again voice my objection 

to taking the child from her biological mother's care. She 

is only four cycles old... such an experience would be 

frightening for her and potentially damaging. Surely her 

best interests must be considered." 

"Duly noted..." Sarn-Ra thought for a few moments. Blood 

was always a bond he could not overlook... and Kal-El did 

have relatives on New Krypton... "We will send one of her 

cousins along to care for her and give all members of the 

party the language. The mother will know where her child 

is, and we will provide everything possible for the care 

and well being of Lord Kal-El's daughter. Lord Kal-El and 

Lady Zara will also be notified. Is this sufficient, Lord 

Trey?"

Reluctantly, Trey nodded.

"So let it be done. Outfit the quantum singularity drive 

prototype ship immediately for the care of Kal-El's 

firstborn. I will hand pick the bodyguards that will 

protect Kal-El's family. The ship will leave by the end of 

the week." 

****

Nor snarled at the missive from Lord Jen-Mai. The Council 

had refused to make a decision... and they were decidedly 

against having him as regent in any case. At least they 

decided to send for Kal-El's firstborn. he thought. He 

supposed that half a loaf was better than none; Jen-Mai's 

clearance was not high enough to discover where Kal-El had 

lived on Earth... His family was inaccessible as long as he 

knew not where they were. 

Even then, it would take far too long to fetch any of them 

to use to convince the Council into taking his course of 

action. They had played into his hands by sending for Kal-

El's daughter... The ship had already departed... Darkness 

would be forthcoming.

****

Clark stood at the window, contemplating the starfield as 

it moved past him. More than anything, he wished he were 

home with Lois. He had been en route to New Krypton for 

three weeks and his prolonged absence from her had created 

a hole inside of him... a hole that could only be filled by 

Lois and their children. Without his soulmate, he felt 

like a shadow of his former self. He mentally prodded his 

memories of their life together. Remembering both the good 

times and the bad hurt, but the pain of remembering was 

infinitely better than the aching sense of loss that walked 

with him night and day. He missed Lois horribly. His wife. 

His beloved. His lover. His best friend. The mother of 

his children. His soulmate. Without her, he would never 

be whole again. Just being able to talk to her had brought 

a measure of healing, but he knew that until he could again 

hold her in his arms, it would never be complete.

Ching walked quietly up behind Kal-El. He had expected to 

feel pain coming from his Lord because of the separation 

from his family, but the gaping wounds he sensed went far 

beyond what should be. He had to find out what the cause of 

these open sores were... now was not the time to quibble 

about ethics; it was time for action. Carefully, Ching 

entered Kal-El's mind, searching for how to ease the 

emotional distress. His eyes widened in shock as he 

discovered... It can't be... he thought. The Bond is 

rare enough among our own people... It was true however. 

Lord Kal-El was one of the chosen who had found his 

Kreh'kle'vshta... And they had separated them. 

Zara and the Council had to be informed. To meddle with 

the bond was said to bring death and destruction upon the 

entire society... Zara must be made to see sense; Kal-El 

literally belonged to someone else just as if his wife had 

tattooed her name and 'hands off' all over him. Silently, 

he broke contact, turned around, and went to see Zara.

****

"Zara?" Ching called as he stepped into her quarters. 

Zara put the brush she was holding down and turned to face 

him. "Yes, Ching?" 

"Zara, something has come to my attention... something you 

must know of."

"What is it, Ching?" she asked quietly. From the 

expression on his face, she knew that it was serious... and 

could mean trouble.

Ching sighed before he continued. "It would be easier to 

show you..." He stepped forward and lightly touched the 

back of her hands, allowing her to see his memory of what 

he had just discovered. 

Zara nodded slowly and withdrew her hands from his. She 

was surprised to discover that she... missed the contact. 

"I see... And I was going to..." she closed her eyes in 

shock. "By the One Who Holds Us All! I didn't know... I 

didn't realize..." Zara looked at Ching again. "I must beg 

his forgiveness... if he will still help us, our 'marriage' 

will be in name only; I will even insist on separate 

rooms..." As Zara began to turn away, her mind 

inadvertently made more contact with Ching's than she meant 

to. She closed her eyes again and took a deep breath as 

she accidentally discovered his... She turned to him 

quickly, surprise flashing in her eyes. "You... *love* 

me?" She asked incredulously.

Ching hung his head before her, refusing to look her in the 

eye, his posture one of defeat. Convinced that she could 

never care for him, he had hidden his feelings for a very 

long time... Now that they had finally been revealed he 

was very much afraid. He glanced at Zara quickly and 

noticed not disgust as he had feared, but an air of quiet 

contemplation had settled over her.

Long ago, after their first meeting, Zara had recognized 

something within herself that could quickly turn to love. 

Ruthlessly, she had suppressed it, knowing that she could 

not choose Ching--her choice had been made for her long 

ago. She had nurtured her crush for Kal-El, knowing that 

he was safe to love for he belonged to her and she to him. 

Since meeting him, she had begun to recognize her crush for 

what it was but at the same time had tried desperately to 

hold on to it. She knew true love when she saw it... and 

she saw it in Kal-El's eyes for his wife. He and Lois 

obviously loved each other; she would do her best to re-

unite them.

Slowly, Zara held out her hand to Ching. "I never knew," 

she began quietly as he took her hand. "I never thought 

you cared at all... I knew my crush on Kal-El for what it 

was... But you of all people know what my life is like--

cajoling Councilmen into doing what is best for New 

Krypton. I never dare to show emotion for fear of being 

labeled as an 'emotional' woman... never can let anyone too 

close for fear of them either trying to use me or being 

used against me... My crush on Kal-El was different... 

showing emotion about the person you're married to is 

safe... especially since he wasn't around."

"I know, Zara," Ching said softly. Hesitantly he slid his 

hand into hers, lacing their fingers together. "I think... 

perhaps... we should go talk to Kal-El?" Zara answered 

with a sharp nod and they headed towards the observation 

room where Kal-El had been seen last. 

****

Clark wandered over to a soft chair and sat down. It was 

hard to believe that in a few short days, they would be on 

another planet... Zara had mentioned something about 

getting the chip immediately removed from his arm upon 

their arrival and having the doctor give him inoculations 

for Kryptonian diseases. After all, he didn't have the 

proper antibodies and if he caught what might be, to them, 

a minor illness, there was the possibility that he might 

become seriously ill. 

He didn't like the thought of getting sick; the only time 

he had ever gotten sick before he'd almost died. He 

supposed it would be a really good thing if he could obtain 

some medical information... after all, if one of the 

children ever got sick their Kryptonian heritage might 

cause problems... Clark pulled the locket out from 

underneath his shirt and opened it. He ran his finger 

gently over the picture, as if he could really touch them 

through the paper of the photograph. He was so wrapped up 

in his memories that he didn't hear Zara and Ching 

approach.

"Kal-El?" Zara's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Yes?" he answered, closing the locket and tucking it away 

again.

"Clark," Zara began firmly, playing with a strand of her 

waist-length hair as Ching stood behind her and offered his 

moral support. "I need to apologize... I know I already 

told you that I'm sorry we had to involve you in this... 

But I just wanted you to know that I had thought to 

convince you to stay with us--I am sorry for that. After 

the Ceremony of Union, which makes it legal for us to..." 

Zara colored prettily, "...consummate the marriage, I will 

insist on separate rooms."

Zara regarded hum seriously, "If you had told us from the 

beginning that you and Lois are Kreh'kle'vshta... in your 

language it would be 'soulmates', this would have been a 

little more clear from the beginning... I swear by the One 

That Holds Us All that I will make sure that you make it 

home to your wife..." Zara trailed off.

"Thank you," Clark said softly, his eyes bright with unshed 

tears. "You can't know what this means to me..."

Ching leaned over and grasped Clark's hand. "Yes," he 

began quietly, "I think I do."

****

Lois sat in the living room, watching Kiley and Joseph 

play. She smiled as Joseph scooted his cars around the 

floor, making "vroom, vroom" sounds. It felt strange to be 

in Smallville without Clark... She still missed him 

horribly, but being able to 'talk' to him on an almost 

daily basis helped immensely. Lucy had been surprised when 

she was informed of their planned trip to Smallville, but 

she was happy to be able to spend time with Jimmy once 

more. With a weary sigh, she settled back in her chair and 

laid her hand on her distended abdomen. She smiled as she 

felt their baby kick. 

What she wouldn't give to have Clark beside her so that he 

could feel their child move! They had yet to discuss 

names, but it was still months until her due date, so they 

didn't have to worry yet. She half-closed her eyes and 

imagined Clark beside her, his strong arms encircling her 

in a loving embrace. It was the little things she missed 

the most, his soft breathing beside her at night in the 

darkness, his arms holding her close as they slept, the way 

he teased her when she needed it. Every day and every 

night, the prayer was the same--'Please, God bring him home 

to us quickly.'

"Mommy?" a little voice interrupted her musings.

Lois looked up to see her daughter holding a tiny teacup 

and saucer. "Yes, punkin'?"

Kiley held out the dishes, "Clarkie-bear, Annie, and me are 

having a tea party. Would you like some, too?"

Lois smiled and accepted the cup and saucer. "Sure, 

sweetie... I'd like that."

Kiley walked over to a small table where her 'tea things' 

sat. After putting cups and saucers in front of Clarkie-

bear and Annie, she carefully picked up the teapot, walked 

over to her mother, and poured a light brown liquid into 

Lois's cup. "It's choklat tea, Mommy," Kiley said with a 

big grin.

"Thank you, punkin'," Lois raised the small cup to her lips 

and took a sip. It tasted like... chocolate milk. 

"Chocolate milk, sweetie?"

"No, Mommy. It's choklat *tea*." Kiley insisted.

Lois laughed, set the tiny cup and saucer down, and pulled 

Kiley into an embrace. "Chocolate tea, then," she agreed. 

"Thank you for the chocolate tea, Kiley."

Kiley wiggled out of her mother's arms to go put plastic 

cookies in front of her bear and her doll. "You're 

welcome, Mommy... Want some more?"

Just as Lois was about to answer, the doorbell rang. "Jut 

a minute, punkin'," she said as she levered herself out of 

the chair and headed towards the door. She opened the 

door, expecting to see the Irigs; they had been planning on 

visiting that day. She was shocked to see the slender form 

of a woman dressed in what she considered outlandish 

clothing... who was the exact image of Lara in the 

hologram. Quickly, she shut the door and turned to her 

children. "Kiley, take Joseph and go find your grandma and 

grandpa... they should be in the barn. *Now*."

Kiley took one look at her mother's face, and grabbed 

Joseph's hand. "C'mon, Joseph. Let's go find Grandpa."

Joseph wrinkled up his face. "No! Play cars."

Kiley grabbed the cars and stuffed them in her pocket. 

"We'll play cars with Grandpa. C'mon." 

Joseph pouted for a moment before following his big sister 

through the house and out the back door. Lois watched them 

leave before taking a deep breath and opening the door. 

"May I help you?" She asked, struggling to keep her voice 

steady.

"Lois Lane-Kent?" the woman asked in a slightly accented 

voice.

"Lois Lane," she asserted quietly. "I don't use my 

husband's name much." 

The woman inclined her head in response. "I am Kirim-

Wys... your husband's cousin. The Council sent me to warn 

you... and offer you some protection from Lord Nor. May I 

come in to explain?"

Lois opened the door a little wider and ushered her inside. 

She really didn't know what to think. Why had they come 

back? They had already taken her husband from her... what 

more did they want? Lois collapsed into the chair she had 

vacated earlier, gesturing to Kirim-Wys to take a seat 

opposite her on the couch.

"The situation with Lord Nor has deteriorated," Kirim-Wys 

began. "A few weeks ago, he approached the Council with a 

proposal... he asked for an alliance between the House of 

El and the House of Nor." She paused for a moment and 

glanced at Lois, trying to figure out what her cousin's 

wife was thinking... "He has a son near enough in age to 

your daughter. His proposal is to marry them and put 

himself on the throne as regent. The Council has yet to 

make a full decision concerning that, but they are in 

agreement about one thing; Nor must not ever gain the seat 

of power."

"Lois, my father is sure that there is a leak in the 

Council. It may only be a matter of time before Nor's 

informant tells him where to find you and your children. 

We found you by the simple expedient of accessing the 

records of where your husband landed... especially since 

you were not present at the last location Lady Zara and 

Lieutenant Ching sent us a message from. If Nor's informant 

lets him see the records, he will find you, the children 

will be taken, and you and Kal-El's adoptive parents will 

be killed. The council sent me with the bodyguards your 

family is entitled to under ancient law as part of the 

House of El. They also sent me to bring the Heir, your 

firstborn, to New Krypton... to Kal-El. They believe that 

as the current Heir, she is in grave danger and will be 

safer with her father, surrounded by the Elite Guard until 

this matter with Lord Nor is resolved."

"Let me get this straight," Lois began, fire igniting in 

her eyes. "In the six weeks we've known about you, you've 

ripped my husband away from us, taken him to another planet 

where his safety and well-being is in question, and now you 

want to dump a covey of bodyguards on us and steal my 

daughter as well? Call your Council, however you do that 

and tell them that they can have my daughter over my dead 

and lifeless body. It's bad enough that you've taken my 

husband, you will *not* get my daughter as well!" She 

pushed herself up and pointed toward the door in an 

imperious manner. "Out. *Now*."

Kirim-Wys stood and quietly walked toward the door. 

"Milady," she began, "We only wish for your safety... I 

will be back." With that thought, she exited the house and 

walked off to disappear into the trees.

Martha and Jonathan came in a few minutes later, carrying 

Kiley and Joseph. "Lois, honey, what's the matter? Kiley 

said there was a strange woman here." Carefully, they put 

the children down and sat down on the couch. Kiley, 

sensing her mother's distress, came over and climbed into 

her lap. Lois hugged her tightly and kissed her on the 

forehead fiercely.

"Kiley, sweetheart, I need you and Joseph to go into your 

room and play in there for a while... I need to talk to 

Grandma and Grandpa." 

Wordlessly, Kiley slid off Lois's lap and took Joseph by 

the hand. She knew something big was happening, but when 

her mom looked like that, it was best to obey without 

argument. She headed towards the stairs, pulling Joseph 

behind her. He resisted at first... until she offered to 

share the treat that Grandpa Kent had given her earlier 

that day.

Lois watched them start up the stairs before turning to 

Martha and Jonathan. "The woman's name is Kirim-Wys... 

she's Clark's cousin. She was sent to leave bodyguards in 

case Lord Nor comes hunting for us... and to take Kiley 

back with them because she's our eldest child." She drew 

in a shaky breath. "Damn them," she whispered hoarsely. 

"First Clark... now they want Kiley. Will it never end? 

Will they come back for Joseph and our baby next?"

Martha came over and put her arms around Lois, hugging her 

tightly. "We won't let that happen! They won't be allowed 

to take our grandchildren without a fight. How do we know 

that we can believe their intentions are good? Did she say 

why they wanted Kiley?"

Lois grimaced. "She says the Council wants to make sure 

that she's safe from Nor. They want to surround her with 

something she called the 'Elite Guard' to protect her. 

They think that Nor might be able to find us, take the 

children, and kill us. She said that they're leaving 

bodyguards to protect us just in case. They have yet to 

offer us any proof that they're on Clark's side."

"If they're telling the truth, and assuming we let them 

have her, are they going to send her to Clark?" Jonathan 

asked quietly.

"Yes," Lois answered slowly. "If she's telling the truth, 

and if we let her go."

"Are they convinced that she'll be safer there than she is 

here... does Clark know?" Martha asked.

"Yes... No..." Lois looked at her in-laws with anguish in 

her eyes. "I don't know..." 

"Then I guess the question is, how do we keep them away 

from her..." Jonathan began. "Our safety is in our 

anonymity... and they'll take her when hell freezes over."

Lois's eyes filled with tears. She didn't want to send 

Kiley with these people... and with Martha and Jonathan on 

her side, she wouldn't have to. Nor would never get his 

hands on her little girl... none of the New Kryptonians 

would.

****

Clark pulled at the uncomfortable collar of the colorful, 

form-fitting tunic that Zara had insisted he wear. He 

wasn't looking forward to meeting the Council in person... 

or the Ceremony of Union that would make his 'marriage' to 

Zara legal in the eyes of New Kryptonian society. They 

were to arrive in Ka'tra'anl, the capital city, within the 

hour where he would almost immediately be confirmed as 

First Lord. He was thankful that Zara had come to him and 

apologized... She had assured him that she, as well as 

Ching, would do her best to see him safely back to Earth 

after Lord Nor was defeated.

Abruptly, he stood up and crossed the room, his boot heels 

clicking against the floor of the ship. Clark stopped near 

an observation window and stared out into the endless 

darkness of deep space. He closed his eyes and imagined 

Lois with him... she had always loved to fly among the 

stars cradled in his arms... Clark smiled-he could almost 

feel her arms slip around his neck and her small, lithe 

body press against his. He opened his eyes and glanced 

around the room; for a moment there, he had thought he 

smelled his wife's perfume.

Leaning against the wall, he tried to decide if he had 

finally lost his mind; it wasn't the first time that he had 

sensed Lois beside him, smelled her perfume, and even felt 

her arms slip around his waist and hold him tight. He 

sighed, sure it was a hallucination brought on by his 

longing to be at home with her and their children. 

Some nights when he closed his eyes, he could see her and 

the evidence of her advancing pregnancy. He wondered if it 

really could be a sign that he was losing his mind... then 

again, it could be part of the fact that they were 

soulmates... Zara and Ching had implied that being 

Kreh'kle'vshta meant something special to Kryptonians, but 

hadn't said much about how it worked. Ching had promised 

that his Aunt would explain such things, hopefully, he 

wouldn't have to wait very long.

****

Kirim-Wys stood quietly as her crew put in a call to the 

Council. As the images of the twelve Lords shimmered into 

life on the screen, she stepped forward and bowed. "Lords 

of the Council," she began, "The Heir's biological mother 

has listened to our plea and, understandably, steadfastly 

refuses to allow her child to leave with us. I await your 

orders." Kirim bowed again and stepped back to wait for 

the transmission to go through.

"Lady Kirim," Sarn-Ra began, "are you sure that she will 

not permit the child come?"

"Yes sir... Her public thoughts as well as her words are 

definite on that. She already isn't too happy with the 

fact that we forced her husband to come to New Krypton... 

taking her child will most definitely not endear us to 

her." Kirim wisely decided not to say anything to the 

Council of Lois's pregnancy... after all, if there really 

were spies on the Council, it would put her cousin's wife 

in yet even more danger...

Sarn-Ra sighed heavily. Sometimes he hated this job. 

"Kirim, the Heir must be protected. Tonight, you must 

fetch her... Leave the message ball and the bodyguards; we 

know they will protect Kal-El's Terran family--the memories 

questioned them extensively. Report directly to me when 

you have left Earth with the child and come back to us at 

full speed. We will have the Naming ceremony for the child 

after you arrive. Take care of her for us, Kirim; we are 

counting on you."

Before she could reply, the transmission cut off. Kirim 

grimaced and began to make plans. She was thankful that 

she had convinced the Elders of the Council to include a 

two-way communicator in the message globe... That way, Lois 

could be assured of her daughter's safety. With a nod to 

the captain of the ship, Kirim hurried off the bridge and 

toward her quarters... she had a note to write. 

****

Lois walked soundlessly into the children's room and 

carefully pulled the covers back up from where Joseph had 

kicked them. She leaned over and kissed her son tenderly 

before moving over to Kiley's bed. Gently, she tucked the 

blankets more securely around her daughter and pushed a 

curl off her forehead. She pulled a chair up beside the 

bed and sat down for a few minutes to watch her baby girl 

sleep.

Lois smiled as she watched her daughter. Kiley slept 

curled around her two favorite toys, Clarkie-bear was 

clutched tightly to her with one arm while Annie's dress 

was held tightly in the little girl's fist. The doll's 

dark brown hair was tangled wildly with Kiley's own. Lois 

kissed her daughter gently and wondered how anyone could 

contemplate taking her away... It was the same kind of 

wrong-headed thinking that caused Clark to break up with 

her 'for her own good' years before.

Lois tugged the covers up gently around Kiley and stood to 

make her way to the door. Days started early on the farm, 

and it was high time she joined the rest of the house in 

slumber. Lois changed into one of Clark's old football 

jerseys and slid underneath the blankets on Clark's old 

bed. His presence was still tangible in the room he grew 

up in. It had not changed much since the first time she 

had ever slept in it... remnants of his childhood still lay 

scattered all over the room. She hugged the pillow to her 

chest and let the good memories of this place wash over 

her.

Lois smiled as she remembered the times they had spent 

together on the farm, the lazy weekends away from work 

where Superman emergencies were unlikely to interrupt them. 

It was here that Martha and Clark had finally succeeded in 

teaching her how to cook... here that Kiley had been 

conceived... and here where the holidays had been spent 

together as a family even before the children came along. 

Lois cradled the memories close to her heart and as she 

fell asleep, she could have sworn that she felt Clark's 

arms around her. 

****

Kirim walked into the transport with four bodyguards 

trailing behind her. The men were outfitted with a full 

kit and prepared to spend the next few months roughing it 

while they protected their Lord's family. If the conflict 

had not been resolved by then, replacements would be 

sent... They understood that their duties would include 

helping on the farm as needed as Kal-El's adopted father 

was getting on in years. Kirim checked the handwritten 

note and the message globe once more before tucking them 

into the pocket of her charcoal gray suit.

She hated to do this, but it was imperative that the Heir 

be kept safe on New Krypton while Nor was in position to 

gain power. They entered the transport and flew down to 

land in the farmyard. Silently, they exited the vessel and 

the men dispersed to secure the perimeter. They had 

devices with them to help monitor the property... if 

anything larger than a cat entered the Kent's land, they 

would know. 

Kirim entered the house through an unlocked window and 

crept up the stairs, checking each sleeping chamber as 

silently as she could for the child. Finally, she found 

the children's room. She stared at the face of the little 

one who was the hope for New Krypton's future, barely 

registering the presence of the younger child in the next 

bed. She carefully untangled the Heir from the bedding and 

picked her up, making sure to bring along the toys that the 

little girl had clutched in her arms, leaving the message 

ball and the note on the little girl's pillow. She froze 

as Kiley stirred slightly and gently brushed a curl away 

from the child's face.

Kirim crept soundlessly out of the house through the same 

window and made her way back towards the transport, 

cradling the child close to her body. She entered the 

transport, laid the Heir down on a small couch before she 

opened her mind to give the men their final orders. She 

glanced over at the couch, noticing how the Heir had curled 

herself in a tighter ball around her playthings. Sev, 

Jau, Foler, and Vdi. Remember, it is your duty to protect 

Lord Kal-El's family. See that no harm befalls them or you 

will not just answer to the Council, you will answer to me 

personally. Assist them in any way they require; you are 

to obey their orders... Lady Kyrin gave you the language, 

so there should be no problems in communicating. But above 

all, don't let down your guard--Lord Nor has agents 

everywhere. 

Yes, Milady came the response from all four of them.

Kirim nodded to the pilot, who immediately took off and 

flew back to the ship to make their way back to New 

Krypton. She picked up the little girl and carried her out 

of the transport. One of the officers offered to take her, 

but Kirim refused--she knew that the child was safe with 

her and she trusted few others with her charge's safety. 

She walked quickly back to the child's quarters and laid 

her on the bed, covering her with warm blankets. She looked 

around the room, satisfied with the toys and other objects 

of childhood that lay scattered around the chamber. 

Tomorrow she would obtain clothes for her cousin and have 

her checked out by the ship's doctor--it would be necessary 

to have a locater chip implanted in her arm and she would 

need vaccinations against the diseases that she might come 

in contact with.

Kirim drew a soft chair up to the edge of the bed and 

arranged it into a reclining position... When the Heir 

awoke, she knew her presence would be required; the little 

one was sure to be scared when she awoke in a strange place 

far away from the people she loved.

****

Clark pulled at his collar nervously as they approached the 

landing site outside Ka'tra'anl on New Krypton. He clasped 

his hands behind his back and stood stiffly between Zara 

and Ching as the vidscreen began to come to life.

"Relax, Clark," Zara murmured, poking him with an elbow. 

"They'll give us an hour or so for you to meet your family 

here before the Ceremony of Union which will solemnize our 

alliance... Once it becomes known of your Kreh'kle'vshta 

bond with Lois, no one will expect us to consummate the 

union... It is said that to do so would bring destruction 

upon our race. They won't bite... hard." She looked at 

him with mischief dancing in her eyes and he couldn't help 

but smile a little.

"She's right," Ching whispered, "Your tek'l or... aunt gets 

to see you first. She has the gift of Memory, so she can 

give you the language... it will be like you grew up 

speaking Kryptonian..."

Clark took a deep breath and nodded as the image of the 

Speaker of the Council of Elders popped up on the 

vidscreen. "Welcome to Ka'tra'anl, Kal-El. My name is 

Sarn-Ra, I am the Speaker for the Council of Elders. We 

welcome you to your home, New Krypton. Your people 

joyfully await your presence. We will see you in the 

Palace in a few hours." Sarn-Ra bowed low and the image 

winked out.

"I'm not so sure about this," Clark muttered uneasily. 

"I'm just a reporter... How do you people expect me to 

lead an entire society?"

Ching grasped Clark's shoulder. "You're not just a 

reporter; you're also Superman... you've *been* helping to 

lead an entire world for nine years... And right now, all 

you have to worry about is meeting your tek'l--Lady Kyrin-

Wys." Ching moved away from Clark, sat down at the control 

panel, and brought them in for a landing before standing 

and joining them.

The threesome made their way over to the correct wall and 

went through the exit. A small group stood waiting for 

them at the edge of the landing platform. An elderly woman 

stepped forward and walked gracefully over to where they 

stood. Clark gasped in recognition; the woman looked like 

an older version of the holograms of Lara from the globe.

The woman reached out and grasped Clark's hand. "My little 

lin'dra. How you have grown! " She began in heavily 

accented English. "The last time I saw you was at your 

Naming... somehow I expected you to still be the tiny baby 

my sister and her husband put in their ship... Come, Kal. 

We will find a quiet place so that I may give you your 

native tongue... and my personal physician must see you to 

deactivate the locater chip and give you some 

vaccinations..." She smiled at him softly, "We can also 

talk. My little love, I would very much like to hear of 

your life on Earth." Gently, she tugged him towards a 

hovercar while Zara, Ching, and the rest of the crowd 

tagged along. The car dropped them off at a large house 

and Kyrin led him into a small sitting room. 

"Kal, I need your permission to do this... I want to give 

you our language... May I?" She twisted a long strand of 

hair around her fingers and looked at him quizzically.

"I guess so..." he said skeptically as he dropped into one 

of the chairs. "What do I need to do?"

Kyrin smiled and studied him for a moment. "Just relax," 

she said softly, "and drop your shields." She watched her 

nephew relax before walking over to him and carefully 

rested her forehead on his. She accessed her language 

memories and began to implant them in his head, building 

the language up from an instinctive level, just as it would 

be if he had grown up speaking it. He needed to know how 

to read and write in his native tongue as well, so she 

carefully added memories of written language with the 

memories of the spoken language.

With a happy sigh, she delicately broke contact and 

withdrew from his mind. "My little nephew," she murmured, 

"How I missed seeing you grow up... Zara told me that you 

have a family on Earth... I very much would like to meet 

the woman who stole your heart and the great-nieces and 

great-nephews that must be back there."

Clark started as he realized that not only was she speaking 

to him in a language that he'd never heard more than a few 

words of, but that he actually understood it. "Aunt 

Kyrin..." he began in perfect Kryptonian, "How am I doing 

this? I've never heard this language before..."

"It is the gift of Memory..." Kyrin began. "Those with the 

gift can impart memories... discern truth from falsehood... 

give language to others... and if they're not lucky or 

careful, fall into a state of never-ending Memory where 

they literally live only in their memories until they 

die..." Kyrin pressed a button next to her chair. "My 

physician should be here in a few minutes to remove the 

chip and check you out." 

Kyrin regarded him with a slight smile. He looked as she 

had pictured him and almost as the hologram age 

progressions had predicted. Kal was her long-dead sister's 

only child... who must have children of his own by now. 

She had often wished that Jor and Lara had sent him to her 

rather than Earth, but Ching had said that her nephew was 

happy there. His happiness was what she had desperately 

hoped that he possessed for years. "Will you tell me about 

your family and your life on Earth?" she asked quietly.

Clark nodded and pulled the locket out from under his 

shirt. "Would you like to see what they look like?" he 

asked, opening the locket.

Wordlessly, she stood and came over to join him as he 

opened the locket. Kyrin smiled as the pictures came into 

view. "Is this your wife?" she asked, running a finger 

over Lois's picture. Kyrin looked at him suddenly. "She's 

pregnant isn't she?"

"Yes," he answered quietly as he caressed the tiny braided 

lock of her hair with one finger. "I didn't want to leave 

her... Her pregnancy with Joseph was difficult... she was 

sick and was confined to bed for most of it... even then, 

he came a month early and the doctors couldn't stop the 

labor. Come to think of it," he said thoughtfully, "Kiley 

was born a month early too."

Kyrin laid her hand on his arm. She wanted to hug her 

nephew and press a kiss to his forehead as she had when he 

was a baby, but despite her memories of him, he was a 

stranger and she was unsure how he would react. "And these 

are your children?" she asked, pointing to Kiley and Joseph 

in turn. "They're adorable!"

"That's Kiley, and that's Joseph." He said softly. "And 

these are my parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent."

"I want to hear all about them," she began, "But first, we 

need the doctor to see about the chip in your arm. Since 

we don't want you to get sick and you probably don't have 

immunity to our diseases, my physician also needs to give 

you the full complement of shots..." She tipped his head up 

so that his eyes met hers. "I know you miss them, Kal, but 

they will be all right... and it is very possible that you 

will be reunited with them soon," she said softly before 

she hurried off to answer the door chime.

****

Lois woke and stretched slowly. Her dreams the night 

before had been wonderful and filled with Clark. She 

smiled as she felt their baby kick. "It's okay, little 

one," she murmured, "Daddy will be home as soon as he 

can..." She swung her legs over the side of the bed and 

rose to dress. She pulled on one of Clark's flannel shirts 

and a pair of maternity jeans before heading to the kids' 

room to get them up and dressed.

Lois paused in the doorway, anticipating the peaceful sight 

of her little ones sleeping. She looked around the room, 

expecting to see both Kiley and Joseph curled up in their 

beds. Noticing that Kiley's bed was empty she hurried over 

to it, thinking that her daughter might have rolled out of 

bed in the night as she sometimes did. 

It can't be she thought as her eyes lit on the pillow 

where a note and a globe exactly like the one from Clark's 

ship sat. The globe is back in Metropolis in our safety 

deposit box! Lois reached over and grabbed the note, 

hoping for some sort of explanation. Kiley had been 

learning how to write and loved leaving pictures lying 

around for her to find. It was remotely possible that 

Kiley was playing a game... despite the fact that the paper 

the note was written on was unlike any she'd ever seen 

before. Lois opened the note and began to read... at the 

first line, she fell to the ground in a dead faint from the 

shock of what it said...

Joseph opened his eyes and looked sleepily around the room. 

Something was wrong. Clutching Ted E. Bear close to him, 

he scooted out of bed and walked over to where his mother 

lay crumpled on the ground. 

He leaned over and looked at her quizzically. "Mommy 

seepin'? Mommy sick?" he asked and waited for an answer. 

Upon receiving none, he laid his small hand on her cheek 

and began to pat it soothingly. "Mommy, *wake up*!" His 

lower lip began to tremble as he still received no answer. 

"Mommy?" he said as he began to sob. "MOMMY!" he yelled, 

trying to obtain a response. Joseph tugged at her hand, 

frightened. 

Martha hurried into the room, alerted that something was 

wrong by Joseph's cries. "What's the matter, sweetie?" she 

said before noticing Lois's crumpled form. "JONATHAN!" 

Martha yelled as she checked Lois's pulse and began to try 

and pull her up. Joseph abandoned his bear in favor of 

latching on to Martha's leg. He buried his face in her long 

skirt and held on for dear life.

Jonathan, after hearing Martha's cry, ran up the stairs and 

into the children's room. Upon seeing Martha attempting to 

move Lois, he ran over, shoved the globe out of the way 

where it promptly became lost in the bedclothes, and helped 

his wife lift her onto the bed. "Martha, what happened?" 

Jonathan asked.

"I don't know, Jonathan," Martha said as she reached down 

to disentangle Joseph's hands from her skirt and pick him 

up. "I'll stay here with Lois while you go downstairs to 

call Doc Robinson." Martha patted Joseph gently on his 

back as he hid his tearstained face in her chest. "Good 

thing he still makes house calls," she said softly.

Jonathan turned, walked to the door, and paused for a 

moment to look back. "Do you think she's okay?" he asked 

quietly. "I mean, with the baby coming..."

Martha looked at him with a touch of fear in her eyes. "I 

hope so, Jonathan... hurry!"

Jonathan hurried out the door and to the nearest phone. He 

hoped that Old Doc Robinson would hurry... He wanted to 

make sure that his daughter-in-law would be okay...

****

Kiley opened her eyes slowly. She sat straight up, 

noticing right away that she wasn't in her room with Joseph 

at her grandma and grandpa's farm. The room she was in was 

much fancier than her own... and someone was asleep in a 

reclining chair next to the bed. Kiley slid off the bed, 

taking Clarkie-bear and Annie with her. She didn't know 

where she was, but her experience of a few weeks ago had 

made her a bit wary. Carefully, she tiptoed around the 

still sleeping adult and started looking for a place to 

hide. 

She spotted a wardrobe and struggled to open the heavy 

door. After much tugging, the door opened enough for her 

to slip inside and shut it behind her. Kiley burrowed 

behind the clothing and huddled in the corner. She was 

scared. Where was her family? She had gone to sleep in 

the familiar, loving atmosphere of her room at her 

grandparents' farm and woken up in a strange room with a 

strange person beside her. 

Kiley's lower lip began to wobble as she contemplated her 

situation... Daddy was far away on New Krypton, so he 

couldn't come to help her. She buried her face in Clarkie-

bear's fur and began to cry. Daddy, Mommy she thought 

longingly. She wanted her parents, her brother, and her 

grandparents. She wanted to be at home.

Kiley started as the door to the wardrobe swung open. She 

shrank back in the corner, hoping to avoid detection. She 

knew that the last person who kidnapped her had wanted to 

hurt her and Joseph... why should this person be any 

different?

Kirim winced slightly as she felt the waves of fear coming 

off Kal-El's daughter. She had heard of the kidnapping by 

one of Nor's creatures and she supposed that the child's 

fear was part of the after effects. She slowly held out 

her hand to the little girl. "Little one, you have no need 

to fear," she began, broadcasting soothing thoughts at the 

same time. "I'm Kirim, your father's cousin... your 

cousin, too. We're taking you to him."

Kiley looked at her suspiciously. "I don't believe you!" 

She shrank back in the corner, away from Kirim's 

outstretched hand. "*Daddy*!" she yelled, with voice, 

heart, and mind. "DADDY" she screamed again as tears fell 

faster down her face. Kiley curled up in a tight ball as 

far away from Kirim as she could. She looked up at Kirim. 

"Go away." She ordered through her sobs.

Kirim recoiled a bit from the child's mental screams. She 

made a low soothing sound deep in her throat as she reached 

into the wardrobe and pulled the sobbing child out. She 

carried the struggling child over to the couch and sat 

down, arranging the girl in her lap. "Shhh. Lin'dra, it's 

okay. You're a strong one, child. We'll have to see about 

teaching you how to control those gifts of yours."

Kirim drew the child closer to her, and began to murmur 

soothing, inarticulate nonsense in her ear. She stroked 

the crying child's cheek, knowing that the blood 

connection, the Lishra' kre'vatha, would help calm her. 

The blood connection was older than time immortal... For 

hundreds of years, it was speculated that it had something 

to do with their race being telepathic, but no one was 

sure. Blood literally called to blood... all it took was a 

connection of three generations, and they could feel it. 

Fathers to children, children to fathers, cousin to cousin. 

They were all bound by blood forever.

****

Clark leaned back in the chair as the physician, Hir-Qre, 

ran a device over his right arm. "Almost finished, Lord 

Kal-El," the doctor murmured. "This device is keyed to 

vibrate the molecules of the chip and disintegrate the 

biological components... the mechanical ones will be 

naturally flushed out by your body after the organics that 

keep it in place are gone..." he explained as he passed the 

device over Clark's arm a final time. "There we go," he 

said before he turned around to pull a few vials out of his 

bag.

"Now for those vaccinations..." Hir-Qre began to prep the 

needle carefully, gesturing for Clark to roll up his 

sleeve. He carefully inserted the needle into the top of 

the packaging for the vaccine and withdrew the correct 

amount. Just as he prepared to inject the vaccine, Clark 

suddenly sat straight up. 

With a far-away look in his eyes he gestured the doctor 

away. "Something's wrong with Kiley," he said worriedly. 

"I can hear her screaming!"

"But Kiley's on Earth... or she should be," Kyrin said 

quietly. "How can you hear her from here?"

Clark shook his head. "It's in my head... she's screaming 

my name." Clark reached out his hand and grasped hers. 

"Let me show you," he said, before connecting her to what 

he heard.

Daddy! she heard, DADDY!!. It was the 

heartbreaking sound of a terrified child. "Lin'dra, if you 

can hear her, she can hear you... We'll find out what's 

going on; I promise. It's probably just a nightmare... I 

will have one of our long-range telepaths look into it for 

you... But right now, we need to keep you healthy." Kyrin 

gestured for Hir-Qre to administer the vaccination and 

stepped back.

Clark sat back and closed his eyes. Kyrin was right... It 

probably just was one of Kiley's nightmares... But 

nightmare or no, Kiley was his baby girl, and he would do 

almost anything to be there for her when she needed him. 

Kiley, punkin', hang tight... Everything will be okay. 

I love you. He gritted his teeth and hoped it would be 

enough. He desperately wanted to know what had so upset 

his little girl and set things right... personally.

****

Martha smoothed Lois's hair away from her face as Joseph's 

sobs began to quiet. Kiley wasn't in the room, but the 

door to the bathroom had been closed when she had hurried 

past, so she logically assumed that her granddaughter was 

in there.

Joseph rubbed his tearstained face once more against 

Martha's shirt before looking up into her face. "Mommy 

sick?" he asked anxiously as he tugged on Martha's sleeve.

Martha kissed Joseph. "Yes she is, sweetie. But your 

grandpa went to call the doctor. Doctor Robinson will make 

her better."

"Where Kiley?" Joseph asked.

"Scout, Kiley is probably in the bathroom," Martha said.

"Nuh uh," Joseph began. "Jo'eph seepy. Pitty lady up 

Kiley. Kiley go bye bye with lady. Where Kiley?"

Martha's eyes widened in shock. "We'll find out, 

sweetheart." She said quietly. Frantically, she began to 

scan the room, looking for some clue as to what had 

happened. She spotted a crumpled piece of paper on the 

floor near the bed and snatched it up. The paper was of a 

heavier weight than they kept around the house and it also 

seemed to be made of a strange material. Quickly, she 

scanned the note, growing angrier as she read. 

"To Lord Kal-El's family, the Kents.

The Heir is safely with us and guarded. I am sorry I had 

to take her, but Nor has made it a necessity... Despite 

your wishes to keep you with her, the Council of Elders has 

decreed that she be brought to New Krypton, placed in her 

father's care, and under the Council's protection.

You need not fear for her safety and well being. I will 

make sure that she is well taken care of. The globe I left 

in her stead will allow you to see her and bring some 

measure of reassurance. It also contains a message from 

the council. Four bodyguards have been left behind for 

your protection.

I am sorry.

Kirim-Wys"

How could they do this? They had already taken Clark with 

them, why did they have to have Kiley too? Martha clenched 

her fists in anger. She was beginning to question whether 

Clark should have even left with them. Why couldn't they 

leave her family alone? If they could steal Kiley from her 

bed, would they steal Joseph and the baby after it was born 

too? Would her family ever be rid of these people?

Joseph began to whimper again, so Martha took a deep breath 

to calm herself before turning back to her grandson. 

Jonathan hurried back into the children's room. "Old Doc 

Robinson is on his way to check on Lois," he said. 

Jonathan stopped as he noticed the anger in Martha's 

expression. "Martha, honey, what's the matter?"

Wordlessly, Martha handed him the note. He scanned it 

quickly, his face tightening in anger as well. "They're 

long gone by now," he said quietly. "Unfortunately, I 

don't see that we can do anything about this... What are we 

going to do? Call the intergalactic police?"

"I know, Jonathan... If anything happens to that baby, I 

swear that they'll regret the day they were born." Martha 

sighed. "I also don't like the idea of having Kryptonian 

bodyguards on the farm..."

"Neither do I; but I don't see how we can get rid of them, 

and it wouldn't be right to unleash four potentially 

superpowered people on the world... Here at least, we can 

hide them and teach them to use their powers responsibly... 

and I won't hesitate to put them to work to earn their 

keep."

Martha grimaced. "There isn't that much to do around here 

in November... and the only place they can sleep is in the 

barn--I'm not letting them in the house if I can help it."

Jonathan nodded slowly. "Right now, let's wait for Old Doc 

Robinson to check out Lois... I'd better go find these guys 

and let them know about the doc coming to visit so they 

won't do something foolish..." Jonathan leaned over the bed 

and pushed Lois's hair back, stroking it lightly. He 

straightened up and hurried out of the room, determined to 

stop the bodyguards they had been gifted with before Old 

Doc Robinson got hurt.

****

Zara and Ching waited patiently with the others in the 

antechamber of Lady Kyrin-Wys's manor. Zara knew it 

wouldn't take long for the physician to administer the 

vaccinations to Kal-El... it was necessary for him to have 

them. They had not yet managed to completely conquer 

disease and they did not wish for Kal-El to sicken... with 

as little immunity he had to their illnesses, it would be 

like the plague of 9345... he might not survive the 

experience.

The Ceremony of Union was to take place as soon as they 

arrived at the Palace; all of the nobles would be there to 

watch their union be solemnized while it would be broadcast 

to the rest of the people by vidcam. After the Ceremony of 

Union, Kal-El would be the First Lord of New Krypton. 

Zara smiled as Kal-El emerged from the sitting room with 

his tek'l close at his heels. "Come, Kal-El," she said 

quietly, "there is much to be done."

Clark nodded shortly as they headed back to the hovercars 

and started on the short trip to the palace. Zara sat next 

to him in the car, wondering how they could manage to carry 

out this farce. Political marriages were the most common 

type among the nobility, but they never took place when one 

of the participants was Kreh'kle'vshta with another. 

The true state of affairs would have to be explained to the 

head of the Council fairly soon... It was inevitable that 

she would share a suite of rooms with Kal-El, but she would 

make sure that they had separate rooms within the suite. 

He had given up everything to come with her to save her 

world and protect his family. It was the least she could 

do.

****

Lord Nor stood concealed in the masses of nobility waiting 

for their new leader to arrive. Soon enough, he would be 

expected to swear his loyalty to his new Lord... and he 

wasn't looking forward to it. His vow would, of course, be 

false, but swearing loyalty to anyone went against the 

grain. He was Lord Kav-Nor, soon to be master of this 

planet and one day ruler of the universe.

He should not have to declare his fealty to another 

ruler... especially not one who would soon be pulled from 

the seat of power by one who was much worthier to wield it-

-himself. He, like Zara had heard tales of the last son of 

the House of El since childhood... and he hated Kal-El 

because of them. It was like growing up with a perfect, 

invisible brother.

In his guardian's eyes, Kal-El could do no wrong. For that 

only, he would see Kal-El dethroned, humiliated, and have 

his daughter taken from him. Later, he would keep him 

alive to watch first hand the destruction of everything he 

held dear... only after he had witnessed his own complete 

downfall would Nor let him die. 

This world, as well as Kal-El's Earth, would be his for the 

taking.

****

Martha held Lois's flaccid hand in her own while Doctor 

Robinson began to examine her daughter-in-law. He 

carefully pried open one eye at a time and peered into 

them. "How long has she been unconscious?" he asked as he 

checked her pulse.

"Almost an hour now," Martha said, looking worried.

"There's no concussion, but it looks like she hit her head 

when she fainted... I'd like to bring her into the hospital 

overnight for observation. Has she been under a lot of 

stress lately?" Doctor Robinson looked at Martha and 

Jonathan expectantly.

Joseph squirmed in Jonathan's arms. "Mommy sick?" he 

asked.

Doctor Robinson held out his arms to Joseph who willingly 

went over to him. He tickled Joseph's tummy gently. 

"Little one, your Mommy is a little sick, but we're going 

to make her better."

Joseph threw his arms around the doctor's neck. "Tank 

you," he said sweetly.

"Yes, she has," Martha said. 

"And how far along is she?" Doctor Robinson asked as he set 

Joseph down on the floor.

"She's around five months... why?" Jonathan said as he 

leaned over the bed to stroke Lois's hair.

Doctor Robinson grimaced. "There's a slight chance that 

whatever caused her to faint may cause some... 

complications... I'm going to order an ambulance... I need 

some of the equipment in the hospital to check her out and 

make sure that both she and the baby are okay... Can I use 

your phone? It's in the kitchen, right?" At Jonathan's nod, 

Doctor Robinson headed out of the room and down the stairs.

Joseph scrambled up on to the bed and sat beside his 

mother. "Mommy be ok?" He asked.

"Yeah, scout, your mom is going to be just fine," Jonathan 

promised. He leaned over, picked his grandson up, and shot 

Martha a worried glance. "Just fine," he repeated softly 

as if by saying it everything would be okay.

****

Zara and Clark approached the doors to the audience chamber 

with Ching following three paces behind to the left. Zara 

slipped her arm in his as they reached the doors. It's 

for appearances, Clark. She sent quickly.

He gave her an almost imperceptible nod as the doors opened 

automatically and they strode forward. Clark had been 

drilled in this maneuver over the past few weeks in transit 

to New Krypton. Zara let go of his arm and he walked 

forward, his empty palms open and his arms outstretched. 

He stopped a few feet away from the dais. As the audience 

fell to their knees murmuring his Kryptonian name, he 

greeted the Council of Elders. "Brothers in bonds, I greet 

thee thrice." 

"Lord Kal-El, I am Sarn-Ra, chief among your Elders." A 

white-haired gentleman began as he stepped down from the 

platform and came forward to greet him. "On behalf of your 

people and the other Elders of the Council, I welcome you 

to New Krypton."

Sarn-Ra gestured to Zara. "Lady Zara, come forward." Zara 

quietly walked forward to stand next to Clark. Sarn-Ra 

placed Zara's hand in Clark's. "Let the Ceremony of Union 

begin," he said. Sarn-Ra stepped back as sonorous music 

began to issue forth from the corners of the room.

Simultaneously, Zara and Clark stepped forward to the dais 

and kneeled as Lord Fryn-Trey, dressed in full regalia, 

wrapped an ornamental rope around their joined hands. 

"Kal-El and Zara, married since birth. On this day, the 

10th of Gysh'na we meet together to bring this decades-old 

union to fruition. Thou shalt be bound together as the 

rope now binds thine hands. Thy lives, once two, are now 

one. One life, one path to travel. May this binding bring 

both of thee joy, and thy children as well." Trey held out 

a wine cup to each of them in turn, from which they both 

took sips. "By drinking from this cup, thou hast entered 

into a covenant... and this union has become legal. In the 

name the One Who Holds Us All, this union is now declared, 

in this solemn assembly, to be legal, and its consummation 

sanctioned by law." 

Trey helped them stand and turned to the crowd. "People of 

New Krypton, Your new First Lord and First Lady-- Lord Kal-

El and Lady Zara, may they rule long and in peace."

A cheer erupted from the crowd. They stood on the dais for 

a few more minutes before Trey led them out of the Council 

Chamber and down a long corridor. A young boy walked 

before them, swinging what looked like a censer as a bell-

ringer walked behind them using his instruments to announce 

their approach. "Milord and Milady," Trey began, "here are 

your chambers. Dinner will be sent up in two hours, and 

your things will be brought from the ship, Lord Kal-El... 

have a nice afternoon and evening. Your first meeting with 

the Council is tomorrow morning."

As the doors opened before them, Trey and the boys left, 

leaving Zara and Clark alone. Together, they entered the 

royal apartments. Zara turned to Clark as the doors closed 

behind them. "Clark," she said quietly, "I'll talk to my 

uncle, Sarn-Ra, and the Chief Elder, Fryn-Trey, tonight and 

make our relationship clear... There's another room next 

door to mine that you can have. I'm afraid that while the 

upper levels of the Council will understand, the people 

will not, so we'll have to stay in the same chambers..." 

Zara studied his face intently. There was something 

amiss... "Are you okay, Clark?" she asked softly.

Clark sighed heavily and flopped into a nearby chair. He 

felt horrible... He knew that it would be a marriage in 

name only, but it had felt akin to cheating on Lois when he 

let himself be married to someone else. He was also 

deceiving a planet full of people... it was like pretending 

to be Superman, but on a much grander scale. He had always 

hated lying--he wasn't very good at it either. It was 

another mark against the New Kryptonians that he now had to 

act a lie everywhere he went.

"It's this whole situation," he began quietly, "I just 

feel... horrible about it. I mean, now I'm a bigamist, I 

have to act a lie all the time, and I don't even really 

want to be here. I'd rather be at home with Lois and our 

kids."

Zara laid a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I know, 

Clark," she said. "I promise I'll do my best to help you 

get home after we defeat Nor... I know how much you miss 

them; especially Lois."

Clark sighed again, softer this time. "I do miss her... 

like I'd miss my right arm. I love her more than words can 

express..."

"Then I'll go take a look and make sure your room is made 

up while you talk to her! It's well known that the 

Kreh'kle'vshta bond lets the bonded ones speak to one 

another over impossibly long distances..." Zara gave his 

shoulder a final pat before heading down a hallway to check 

the room next to hers.

****

Martha, Jonathan, and Joseph waited impatiently outside the 

hospital room while Dr. Robinson finished the last battery 

of tests. A few minutes later, he walked out. "Mr. and 

Mrs. Kent, I'm afraid I have some rather unsettling news 

for you..." 

"What is it?" Martha interrupted, looking anxious.

"Lois woke up briefly while I was examining her... To be 

frank, she freaked out. She was saying something about her 

little girl being stolen..." Dr. Robinson looked at them 

quizzically.

"Joseph and Kiley were kidnapped from their beds a few 

weeks ago," Jonathan explained, "We got them back, and 

Kiley is visiting her other set of grandparents right now."

"She's been having nightmares about the children being 

missing... especially since Clark was sent away undercover 

on assignment," Martha added softly.

Dr. Robinson nodded slowly. "That makes sense... I've 

prescribed a mild sedative for now that won't hurt the 

baby. The bad news is that Lois is showing signs of going 

into premature labor. I'm going to give her some drugs to 

stop that, but she needs to be kept in bed for at least a 

week and take it easy after that. I'm keeping her here 

overnight for observation as well."

"Thank you, doctor... may we go in and see her?" Martha 

asked.

"Yes... she was asking for you."

Jonathan picked up Joseph and followed Martha into the 

room. He hoped that Clark would be able to come home 

quickly... they needed him badly.

****

Kiley snuffled once more and looked up at the adult who 

still held her. "Why did you take me away?" she asked 

stuffily. "I want to go home."

"Lin'dra," Kirim began, "we wanted to make sure that you 

would be safe... We were afraid that Nor might try to take 

you away and hurt you. We're taking you straight to your 

father... Your mother knows where you are as well."

Kiley's lip began to tremble once more, "But I wanna be 

with Joseph and Mommy and the new baby will be born soon... 

I wanna help name her... and what does 'Lin'dra' mean?"

Quickly, Kirim moved to reassure her. "Little one, we'll 

try to get you and your Father home by then..." Kirim 

sighed. "Child, it's hard to translate... I suppose that 

the closest I can come to it in your language is 

'sweetheart'... Now, what is your name, Lin'dra? We were 

unable to find out before we were sent to get you." Kirim 

pulled out a handkerchief and blotted the remnants of tears 

from the Heir's eyes. 

Kiley looked at Kirim shyly through the long silken fringes 

of her eyelashes. Somehow, she trusted this person. She 

didn't know why... after all, this was the same person who 

had been with her when she had awakened, but somehow she 

knew that this person who called herself 'cousin' would not 

intentionally hurt her. "I'm Kiley Christine Kent," she 

said quietly. "What's your name?"

"I'm Kirim-Wys... your cousin." Kirim smiled at Kiley. 

"On New Krypton, do you know what your name is?"

Kiley shook her head vigorously. 

"It's 'Kiley-El'... at least for now," Kirim said matter-

of-factly. "On New Krypton, your Daddy's name is 'Kal-

El'..."

"Is Mommy's name Lois-El?" Kiley asked, with an interested 

look on her face. "What do you mean by 'for now'?"

Kirim winced... this wasn't something she wanted to try and 

explain to a four-cycle-old child. "I'm afraid not, 

Lin'dra. If your Mommy and Daddy had been married on New 

Krypton, it would be, but our laws do not allow for 

marriages off-planet... and your Mommy couldn't come with 

us because the One did not build her body to withstand the 

higher gravity of our planet as we were built. When we get 

to New Krypton, we will have your Naming... and you will 

get your Kryptonian name..."

"Who is the One? What's gravity? Why do I need another 

name?" Kiley asked, trying to digest this new information.

Kirim sighed... It was going to be a very long journey...

****

Lois slowly opened her eyes and winced at the pain in her 

head. "Kiley," the word escaped with a low moan. The New 

Kryptonians had taken her daughter... and goodness only 

knew where in hell she was now. There was absolutely 

nothing she could do about it, either. It wasn't like the 

Smallville, or even the Metropolis police could hunt for 

her in outer space!

Slowly, she looked around the room, attempting to figure 

out where she was. The first thing she saw was Martha and 

Joseph asleep in the chair beside the bed. She was in the 

hospital... again. Lois grimaced--she *hated* hospitals! 

She closed her eyes and attempted to focus enough to talk 

to Clark, but the pain in her head prevented her from 

concentrating on anything for too long. 

With a heavy sigh, Lois began to roll over on to her side 

and stiffened as she felt something like a cramp. It was 

much too early for Braxton-Hicks contractions... she hoped 

that something wasn't wrong with the baby...

You're overreacting, Lane she thought, It's only one 

little cramp... everything will be okay. With a heavy 

sigh, Lois pulled the covers further up around her. She 

wished that they had never heard of the New Kryptonians... 

and that they had been more militant in their denial of 

help at the first meeting. If they hadn't showed up, both 

Clark and Kiley would be safe at home with her.

With a heavy sigh, Lois closed her eyes and soon drifted 

off to sleep with thoughts of Clark and Kiley running 

through her head.

****

Zara walked slowly down the corridor towards her 

bedchamber. She hated seeing Kal's--Clark's pain and guilt 

over their course of action. She looked up to him... over 

the past few weeks, she had begun to see him as the brother 

she had never had. She hoped that he would come to see her 

the same way... as an ally, a friend... a sibling. 

She passed the door to her chamber and strode up to the 

next door. She opened it, stepped inside, and palmed the 

lights up. Zara gasped in shock as she took in the decor. 

The last time she had entered this room, while the 

furnishings had been as rich as any in the Royal Chambers, 

they had not been meant for... a child. In her absence, 

the room had been stripped and completely remade into a 

child's dream room. In fact it was much like the room she 

had occupied as a child.

A large, heavy, white-painted canopy bed stood in the 

center of the room covered in a heavily embroidered pastel 

counterpane. The walls were decorated with paintings from 

their most beloved children's folktales and toys of every 

kind lay scattered around the room in colorful piles. A 

large bookcase stood against the wall, filled with picture 

storybooks of every description. The El crest seemed to 

play a large part of the decorating scheme...

Zara strode forward into the chamber and headed toward the 

closet. She threw open the door and peered inside. 

Inside, she found clothes appropriate for a four cycle old 

little girl... suitable for the heir to the throne of New 

Krypton. 

Zara narrowed her eyes. She knew the law... the prepared 

room spoke of something she had not ordered... something 

that the Council of Elders had no right to order. Her 

Elders had some serious explaining to do. Quickly, she 

composed herself and let her eyes drift half-shut. Lord 

Sarn-Ra, she sent and waited for an answer.

Yes, Milady? came back the answer in her uncle's strong 

mind-voice.

Assemble the Council immediately. she shot back.

But Lady Zara, it is your wedding night. Sarn-Ra 

answered.

Wedding night or not, this cannot wait. I must see the 

full Council tonight... half an hour ago would be nice. 

Yes, Milady, Sarn-Ra sent with a purely mental sigh. 

Good. Zara sent and broke off the contact. She strode 

out of the room, shutting off the lights behind her. She 

walked across the wide corridor and checked in the room 

that lay across from it. She peered inside and nodded 

sharply to herself... it would do nicely.

Zara left the room and walked purposely toward the room 

where Clark sat... and where the doors led out. "Clark," 

she began as soon as she came into his view, "I have to 

leave for a little while. There is some... business I have 

to attend to... I promise I'll tell you about it later."

Sunk deep into his thoughts, Clark barely noticed when Zara 

entered the room. "Okay," he said absently as Zara slipped 

quietly into the outside corridor that led to the main part 

of the Palace.

Zara walked quickly to the Council Chamber, growing angrier 

by the moment. She reached the doors and stormed in, fire 

flashing in her eyes. Mentally, she made herself calm down 

before addressing the Elders assembled before her. 

"Elders of the Council," she began, suppressed fury evident 

in her voice. "Why have you sent our people to steal Lord 

Kal-El's daughter from her home?" Zara glared at the men, 

daring them to come forward.

"Mmmilady," Lord Ekwe-Rit began, "Wwwe... did not precisely 

s--"

"Must I remind you that lying to me may be considered 

treason?" Zara said coldly.

Sarn-Ra cleared his throat, "Lady Zara. We did send for 

her... The new quantum singularity drive ship was 

dispatched to fetch her from Earth. We wanted to make sure 

that she would be protected from Nor's plans... and we left 

bodyguards to protect Lord Kal-El's family so that Nor 

cannot use them against him... us."

"So... let me get this straight," Zara began. Under the 

force of her anger the room became utterly silent. The 

Elders had never seen her this angry before... every muscle 

in her lithe body spoke of her ire. "You sent a virtually 

*untested* ship across five galaxies into a solar system 

where the only planet that contains life has no idea that 

we exist and, if discovered, could very well launch nuclear 

missiles at it, to rip Kal-El's firstborn away from her 

mother, brother, and grandparents?" 

Zara's face hardened as she took a deep breath to continue 

her tirade. "You're bringing that child *here* to what has 

the potential to become a *war-zone* in a ship that we know 

may only work in *theory* to place her in further danger by 

the close proximity to Lord Kav-Nor? We all know that he 

has a vendetta against the First Lord and he will not 

hesitate to kill the child if he thinks it will bring him 

any kind of gain! By The One, he'll most likely want to 

kill her anyway just to see Kal-El suffer!"

Zara strode forward and brought her fist down with a loud 

thump on the rail in front of the Council of Elder's seats. 

"Darkness!" she exploded. "What were you *thinking*? Are 

you *trying* to get her killed before her fifth cycle?"

"Milady," Lord Jen-Mai began as he attempted to pacify her. 

He held out his hands in a conciliatory gesture. "An offer 

of a marriage alliance between the House of El and the 

House of Nor has been placed on the table... we felt that 

the child must at least be here... and that the offer must 

be considered. As her legal mother, you have the right to 

approve any offer made... that is, if you and Kal-El can 

come to an agreement about it."

"Never." Zara said firmly. "I would rather face the 

Darkness than allow that sweet child to be joined to any of 

Kav-Nor's get. Tak-Nor is a normal, nice little boy at the 

moment but his father's influence will change that rather 

quickly. As you so kindly pointed out, I *am* her legal 

mother. I will *never* allow any daughter of mine to be 

shackled to a madman or the child of a madman!" 

Zara crossed her arms over her chest. "The safety of that 

child is now our first priority. I want no less than two 

of the Elite Guard near her at all times. Before the men 

are assigned, I want our best Memory to give them a truth-

examination. In fact, with the exception of her father and 

myself, *anyone* who comes near her unless she is with one 

of us is to be put under examination."

Zara leaned forward and placed her hands on the bar in 

front of her. "She is to have all the vaccines for our 

diseases administered and quickly. If that child sickens 

because of your carelessness and foolishness I *swear* by 

the stars, the ground, and all things in between that I 

will see you punished to the fullest extent of the Law."

Zara shot a furious glare at each Elder in turn. 

"Tomorrow, before open Court, you will admit your folly and 

apologize to Lord Kal-El... the Old Way. And you'd better 

pray to the One that he is more forgiving than I--if it 

weren't for the fact that, according to Law, I can do no 

more than reprimand you, I would see you banished to your 

estates at the very least... But even I am not above the 

Law."

As one, the Elders stood and bowed to her deeply. "Yes, 

Milady," they murmured.

"You are dismissed," Zara said coldly. She turned and 

walked out of the door, wondering how she would explain 

this to Clark.

****

It was Sarn-Ra who spoke first. "I have never seen her 

this angry before," he said seriously. 

Ganul-Wys looked over at his long-time friend and grimaced. 

"It's the instinct of a parent for a child," he began 

softly, "she may not realize it yet, but somewhere deep 

inside her, she knows that she is responsible for that 

little girl... I've seen it myself with my wife when she 

thought that Kirim and Grsek were in danger... though my 

wife is not quite as... formidable when she's upset."

"I think we had better do as she says," Xek-Lo said 

seriously. "Not only is she First Lady, but I don't think 

I'd want to cross her in this..." 

Murmurs of agreement followed this remark as Sarn-Ra pushed 

a button to call the Elite Guard. "Her wish is our 

command," he said ironically as the guards began to appear. 

Quickly he gave them instructions to report to Lis-Mir, the 

top Memory for a truth examination. Those born with the 

gift of Memory could discern truth from falsehood with 

nothing more than a thought. They could literally see into 

the memories of others without help and the strongest ones 

could see through the densest mind-shield. 

He dismissed them quickly and turned back to the other 

eleven men who comprised the Council of Elders. "Let us 

hope that Kal-El will forgive us... and we must pray to the 

One to keep that baby safe." With those words, the Elders 

dispersed; each sunk in his own thoughts of how to protect 

the Heir.

****

Nor smiled as he read Jen-Mai's missive. The Heir would 

arrive in two weeks... and he had plans to make. Kal-El's 

daughter would have to be the center of his scheme. After 

all, whether the Council approved the alliance or not, he 

could always force a marriage between his House and the 

House of El. 

He had always wanted to marry Zara--it would strengthen his 

claim immensely, but he would have to wait until he could 

dispose of Kal-El. The Ceremony of Union bound them 

together for life... Such unions were permanent... unless 

one partner found their Kreh'kle'vshta.

Mentally he sneered at the concept. There wasn't a record 

of a Kryptonian finding their Kreh'kle'vshta in the past 

200 cycles. It was highly unlikely that such a thing 

existed at all. Bah. He thought. Tales for children. 

He dismissed it from his mind and began to entertain more 

pleasant thoughts of becoming the absolute ruler of New 

Krypton...

****

Zara entered the suite with trepidation. She had been 

pacing the hall for over two hours, trying to come up with 

a way to inform Clark of the Council's idiotic decision. 

Frustrated, she twisted a strand of her long hair between 

her fingers, yanking on it occasionally. Zara heaved a 

sigh as she walked quietly over to where Clark sat. She 

could have sworn that he hadn't moved a muscle since she 

had left him a few hours earlier. Zara laid her hand on 

his arm to get his attention. "Clark?" she said softly.

A light snore was her only answer. Zara stared at her 

sleeping friend for a few moments, trying to decide what to 

do with him. She knew he was tired; Ching had been running 

him ragged in the practice-room so that if worst came to 

worst, he would be able to hold off one of Nor's assassins 

until help could arrive. Leaving him in the chair simply 

wasn't an option--not only would the servants talk, but 

sleeping in that position simply could not be comfortable.

Ching, she sent. Could you come and give me a hand, 

here? Clark fell asleep in the antechamber and he's too 

heavy for me to manage on my own.

I'll be right there. Ching sent in response. A few 

minutes later, Ching entered the suite and assisted her in 

taking Clark to the bedchamber across the hall from hers. 

While Ching supported his weight, Zara pulled down the 

bedcovers. Carefully, Ching lowered his lord on to the 

bed, pulled off his boots, and covered him up.

Zara and Ching walked quietly out of the room, closing the 

door behind them. "Ching," Zara began softly, "We have a 

problem... The Council went behind my back and sent Kirim-

Wys to fetch Clark's daughter. I just found out and it's 

too late to stop it. I was going to tell Clark tonight, 

but he's obviously exhausted--it's not even dark outside 

yet." Zara bit her lip worriedly. "I'm going to try and 

keep her either with me or with Clark... neither he nor 

Lois will ever forgive us if anything happens to that 

child!"

Ching stepped closer to her and pulled her into an embrace. 

"Zara," he said quietly, "We'll figure it out. I promise." 

Ching caressed her hair gently. "I swore to keep Clark 

safe for Lois... I think that same oath applies for little 

Kiley as well."

Zara sighed heavily. "I guess the only thing we can do now 

is... wait." Zara brought her arms up around his waist and 

held him tightly. She hoped when Nor was defeated that the 

Council could be convinced to allow her to form a new 

marriage contract--with Ching. She was exceedingly 

grateful that she had finally noticed what had been right 

under her nose the entire time; she didn't know what she 

would do without Ching's love and support. 

She smiled happily as Ching carefully pushed her waist-

length hair away from her face. Zara looked up into his 

face, wondering at the love she saw in his eyes. With bated 

breath, she watched as he began to lower his head closer to 

hers. Even with all the time they had spent together, he 

had yet to kiss her... 

A shiver of anticipation ran through her as his mouth drew 

closer to hers. She felt his warm breath on her skin and a 

sharp tingle ran up her spine. As his lips softly brushed 

her own she pulled him closer, deepening the encounter. 

Slowly, she opened her mouth under his, brought her arms up 

around his neck, and tangled her hands in his hair.

They broke off the kiss a few moments later, gasping for 

air. "Wow." Zara murmured softly.

"I love you," Ching said quietly.

"I know... I love you, too," Zara said. She took his hand 

in hers and began to gently tug him in the direction of the 

sitting room. "I think we need to talk..."

****

Kirim sighed in exasperation as she tried to get the bear 

away from Kiley for the fifth time that day. Normally, she 

wouldn't have even tried, but the bear was in serious need 

of a bath. A few minutes in the sonic washer and it would 

be as good as new, but Kiley refused to let it out of her 

sight. She had even tried to borrow it in the middle of 

the night, but the child had begun to wake up. She decided 

to try another tactic.

"Kiley. Lin'dra. You know how you got clean in the sonic 

shower last night?"

"Uh huh."

"Well, Clarkie-bear is getting dirty, too. We need to give 

him a bath."

"No." Kiley cuddled Clarkie-bear closer to her.

"Little one, doesn't your Mommy wash him sometimes?" Kirim 

asked patiently.

"Yesss. But that's Mommy's job. Daddy won Clarkie-bear 

for Mommy a long time ago.... Before I was borned... Before 

they got married. Mommy gave him to me when I was borned." 

Huge tears began to well up in Kiley's big brown eyes. 

"Daddy an' Mommy are a long ways away..."

Kirim melted under Kiley's gaze. She gathered the child to 

her and hugged her gently. "Lin'dra, I'll tell you what. 

You and I will take Clarkie-bear to the sonic washer and 

we'll watch him wash, okay?"

Kiley nodded and rubbed her face against the sleeve of 

Kirim's gown. "Can Annie take a bath with Clarkie so that 

he won't be lonely?" she asked.

Kirim smiled, grabbed Annie off the bed, and handed her to 

Kiley before picking the child up. "Lin'dra, it's time 

your friends got their baths." She headed out the door and 

down the corridor to the sonic washing unit. Carefully, 

she lifted Kiley up to put the toys in the machine and 

helped her push the button.

Kirim pulled a chair in front of the machine and set Kiley 

on it. She absently stroked the child's hair as she began 

to contemplate the events of the past few days. The 

physician had given her a clean bill of health and Kiley 

hadn't objected to the vaccinations and the implantation of 

the chip... much. Over the past few days, she had learned 

much about children Kiley's age... she had been amazed to 

discover how much dirt the child could manage to find in 

the brand-new pristine ship.

While Kiley often seemed animated and happy, Kirim could 

tell that not all was right--a lingering sadness lurked in 

the depths of the child's eyes. Absently, she began to 

twist a few of the Heir's curls around her fingers. She 

was such a sweet little girl that her sadness hurt... 

Kirim wanted to make it go away, but she knew that the only 

remedy would be to reunite the little girl with her 

parents.

Captain, she sent, At our present speed, how long 

will it take for us to reach New Krypton?

It will take another two weeks, Milady came the 

response.

Can we achieve a greater velocity? The Heir needs to be 

reunited with her sire.

Yes, Milady. At top speed it will take a week, but it 

has not had as extensive tests performed on it as the one 

at which we are currently traveling.

Captain, on my authority, speed up. We were assured that 

the ship would function within defined parameters. The 

Council of Elders will not thank us if we dally.

Aye, Milady.

Kirim dropped a kiss on the top of Kiley's head and prayed 

to the One that it would be sufficient for the child's 

emotional stability. She would break the news to her young 

charge that night... Hopefully, it would be sufficient 

to allay the tears that had fallen every night since their 

departure.

****

Martha pulled up the blankets and tucked them gently around 

her daughter-in-law. Doctor Robinson had performed some 

tests that suggested that premature labor was a distinct 

possibility. So while he had signed her release papers from 

the hospital the previous day, he had insisted upon her 

getting strict bed rest for at least a week. Lois had 

regained consciousness for a little while in the hospital, 

but Dr. Robinson had given her a light sedative... he said 

that the extra sleep would be good for her and help her 

heal...

Martha smoothed the bedclothes one last time before going 

into the children's room to straighten it up and make the 

beds. She was worried and frightened for Clark and Kiley. 

Her lips twisted into a grimace of pain that matched the 

ache in her heart as she thought about her two lost ones. 

Clark had been her miracle, but Kiley had been an even 

greater one. Her children had been told that conception 

was an impossibility... and then Lois had become pregnant. 

When she had held her grandchild for the first time, she 

knew that the baby was the greatest miracle of all... She 

*knew* that they would find their way home together, but 

having Kiley stolen--no matter the what the supposed 'good' 

intentions were and Clark already in that far-away place 

hurt horribly.

Martha slowly pulled the covers into place on Joseph's bed 

and tucked them in securely. Next, she moved to Kiley's 

bed. As she shook out the blankets, the globe that the New 

Kryptonians had left rolled off the bed unnoticed and 

soundlessly hit the carpet. It continued in a path that 

ended in a stack of Joseph's toys. Martha finished her 

self-appointed task and walked slowly back to Clark's 

childhood bedroom. As she sat in a chair beside the bed, 

she stroked Lois's hair gently and prayed for the safe 

return of her son and her oldest grandchild.

****

Zara knocked softly on Clark's door. Clark? she sent, 

and waited for an answer. She had to tell him-- he 

deserved to know.

"Coming," Clark called as he came to the door. He stood 

uncertainly in the doorway and tugged nervously at the 

collar of his tunic.

Zara inspected him quickly. "You'll do," she said with a 

small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Then, 

remembering why she had come, Zara bent her head to look 

down at the ground and played with a strand of her hair 

nervously. "Clark... I found out something last night that 

you're not going to like... I don't like it myself... I-I-I 

got pretty mad about it in fact... I haven't lost my temper 

like that in years; I usually can't afford to."

"What is it, Zara?" Clark asked quietly.

Zara ducked her head further down, studying the carpeted 

floor as if it were the most fascinating thing she had ever 

seen. "Without my knowledge or consent, the Council of 

Elders decided that Kiley would be safer here... so they 

sent the new prototype of a quantum singularity drive ship 

to go get her. Apparently, Nor approached them with a 

proposition... a concubine provided him with a son named 

Tak who is Kiley's age. As long as he acknowledges the 

child, Tak is his legal heir... He offered a marriage 

alliance between the House of Nor and the House of El..."

Clark's face clouded over with rage. "They want to marry 

*my* baby daughter off to the son of a madman? They snatch 

my four-year-old little girl from her mother and her home 

in some sort of insane plan..." Clark's hands balled up 

into fists. "I tell you, Zara, they will marry my little 

girl off to one of Nor's get when hell freezes over," he 

snarled.

Zara laid her hand on his arm. "It's okay, Clark... They 

can't agree without our consent anyway... According to 

Kryptonian law, the Council must have the agreement of the 

parents as well as the agreement of the First Lord and 

First Lady... I already told them no. I'm sending her back 

as soon as we can spare the ship... and if we're lucky, Nor 

will have been defeated, and we can send you home with her 

as well. They're going too fast for us to even contact 

them..."

Clark took a deep breath. "But they think she'd be safer 

here? They're bringing *my* little girl into what might 

become a *warzone*?! Are they crazy?"

"I swear to you, Clark," Zara began, "I will keep her safe. 

It wasn't my idea... but she will get back to Earth... to 

your wife... safely. They should be slowing down within 

encoded communications range fairly soon... you can see her 

and talk to her then... and we can tell them to turn 

around." A slightly evil smile crossed Zara's face and 

mischief danced in her eyes. "I told the Council that 

they had to apologize to you--the old way. It dates back a 

few thousand years ago to when the First Lord was more like 

an emperor... and courtiers could be beheaded if they 

didn't bow properly. I know it won't make this situation 

get much better, but it will be fun to watch."

Clark closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. He needed 

to be calm--he didn't think he could afford to yell at the 

Council. Zara reached out and touched his arm once more. 

"My Lord, the Council of Elders awaits..."

"Zara, I need to contact Lois... can the Council wait? I'm 

worried about how she's taking it. I mean, it's only been 

a few weeks since Tez kidnapped the kids..." Clark looked 

at her expectantly.

Zara's face softened. "Yes, they can wait..." She reached 

out, took Clark's hand, and led him into the antechamber 

toward one of the soft chairs. Ching, she sent, 

Please inform the Council that we need a few minutes...

Yes, milady came his reply.

Clark took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Lois? he 

called. He waited a few minutes before trying again. 

*Lois?* He frowned worriedly and began to concentrate 

on the bond. Nothing came from their connection but 

silence... and darkness. He could still feel her, so she 

wasn't dead, but still... Somehow he got the feeling that 

she was unconscious. Was she hurt? What had happened? 

He opened his eyes and looked worriedly at Zara. "She's 

not answering!"

Zara frowned grimly. "Something more that the Council will 

have to answer for... I think we had better go meet with 

them..."

Clark, after hours of instruction, knew the protocol. "Yes, 

my Lady," He said as he held out his arm to Zara. 

Zara rested her hand on the soft sleeve of his court attire 

and walked by his side as they exited the Royal apartments. 

Ching and three other bodyguards from the Elite fell in 

around them as they walked. She gave him directions 

telepathically as they wound their way through the maze of 

the Palace. The doors to the Council opened before them 

and they entered. 

The Elders fell to their knees upon Kal-El's entrance and 

bowed down to the ground. "We are exceedingly sorry," 

began Sarn-Ra, "For our presumption in sending for thy 

daughter." Each Elder apologized separately then rose to 

join the group of those who had already made their 

apologies. After the last Elder apologized, they bowed 

before him as a group, and began to chant ritualized 

pleadings for forgiveness. Clark glanced at Zara and saw a 

glimmer of mischief still evident in her eyes. This 

is... weird. He sent, feeling uncomfortable. 

Just wait, she sent with a rather evil chuckle behind 

her mind-voice. It gets better... the First Lord who 

instituted this had a strange sense of humor... Just as 

Zara finished the thought, the Elders began to do a strange 

dance to the beat of their chant. I know you've heard 

the Earth phrase about... um.. singing for your dinner... 

here it's dancing for forgiveness... or at least it used to 

be...

Clark suppressed a tiny hint of a smile at the sight of the 

dignified Elders' weird performance, but at the same time, 

he couldn't help but worry--he didn't know where his 

daughter was, he couldn't contact Lois, and he didn't know 

what was going on at home. As he watched the Elders dance, 

he couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable--the customs 

of this place were extremely outlandish... and he was not 

quite successful at suppressing his anger at what they had 

done to his family. 

His little girl was in danger because of them... Lois's 

lack of response was most likely due to the fact that they 

had snatched his baby daughter. Definitely weird... but 

this doesn't excuse what they've done... he sent, anger 

flowing freely though his transmission. The dance ended as 

the Elders once again sank to their knees and bowed low to 

the floor.

Zara nodded to the Elders. "You may rise," she said 

quietly. "Make sure this does not happen again. The child 

will be here in a few weeks; as soon as they are within 

encoded communications range, the order must be given for 

them to turn back... We require the latest reports on Lord 

Kav-Nor's activities."

As the Elders hastened to comply, Clark stopped them with a 

wave of his hand. "Elders of the Council," he began 

softly, determination visible on his face. His hands 

clenched into fists as he folded his arms across his chest. 

"Just in case Lady Zara has not made this perfectly clear 

to you... The House of El will be united with the House of 

Nor over my dead body." 

Clark glared at the members of the Council, taking on a 

presence he rarely had except as Superman. "How *dare* you 

kidnap her? By doing so, you've placed her in more 

danger... On my parents' farm, she was protected by 

anonymity! You have taken that away from her. Now, my 

four-year-old will be the target for every whacko, every 

assassin, and every madman on New Krypton!" 

Clark's voice contained a hint of steel and anger shone 

through visibly on his face as he continued. "If 

*anything* happens to my daughter, I will do *everything* 

in my power to see all of you punished within the confines 

of the law. Is that clear? We also *must* know if anyone 

was... hurt when you stole my little girl." 

In one motion, the entire Council bowed before him. "Yes, 

Milord," they murmured. 

"Lord Kal-El, according to Lady Kirim," Sarn-Ra began, "No 

one in the house woke... No one was hurt at all."

"For your sake, you had better hope that your information 

is correct. Continue... We require the information on 

Nor's activities," Clark said. He was still worried about 

Lois, but the only thing he could do was wait until she 

contacted him...

"Milord, Milady," Sarn-Ra began. "Nor withdrew his troops 

from around Ka'tra'anl a few hours before your arrival. It 

is our opinion that he will re-group until he has a plan... 

Nor would rather take the kingdom by law than by force--he 

wants this world whole, not torn apart by war."

Trey walked over and handed them a palm-sized computer. 

"Here are his troop deployments and their current 

locations... The Guard has been called up and all of the 

people from the surrounding countryside have been relocated 

within the walls for the time being." Trey regarded Clark 

seriously. "He only has enough troops to attack one city 

at a time... but if he does it right, he could have us 

under siege here for quite some time."

Other members of the Council began to come forward with 

information. Jen-Mai smiled to himself--they did not know 

of Nor's exact troop deployments... and he intended to keep 

it that way.

****

Jonathan watched the bodyguards warily from the kitchen 

window as they began to do the chores for him. In 

curiously accented English their ranking officer, Captain 

Foler had explained that they were to help with the 

chores... and that they were there to keep his family safe 

until his son could return to them. Apparently, one of the 

reasons that these particular members of the Elite Guard 

had been picked was for their background in farming. All 

four of them had been raised on farms... and many of the 

animals on New Krypton were similar to the ones indigenous 

to Earth.

He held his grandson on his lap while Joseph happily played 

with his cars. "Vroom, vroom," the little boy said as he 

ran the cars all over 'Gampa road'.

"That's right, scout," Jonathan said absently as he ruffled 

Joseph's hair. 

"Gampa, Jo'eph potty." Joseph said, squirming slightly in 

his grandfather's grasp.

Jonathan got up and carried Joseph upstairs to the 

bathroom. "Need any help, scout?" he asked.

"Jo'eph do." Joseph asserted as he climbed on to his 

special seat. 

Jonathan smiled at his grandson and waited patiently for 

him to finish. A few minutes later, he pulled up the 

child's pants and held him up to the faucet to wash his 

hands.

"Gampa down," Joseph demanded after his hands had been 

washed. Jonathan put him down and watched him run towards 

his parents' room. He leaned against the wall for a brief 

moment and prayed that Clark and Kiley would be home soon. 

He pushed himself off the wall and went downstairs, 

carefully latching the baby gates behind him.

****

Joseph toddled quickly into his parents' room in search of 

his mother. He spotted her on the bed and walked over to 

her. Lois was sleeping peacefully with one hand dangling 

over the side of the bed. "Mommy seepin'," he said 

quietly. Joseph planted a wet kiss on her hand and went in 

search of his grandmother.

"Gan'ma?" he called as he wandered into his and Kiley's 

room. Martha wasn't in the room, but he spotted something 

new... a toy that he'd never seen before. Joseph wandered 

over and touched the toy. "Pitty ball," he said as he 

reached over to pick it up. He stood up and passed the 

ball from hand to hand before putting it down and rolling 

it as fast as he could.

Joseph chased the ball into the hallway before it rolled to 

a stop and he picked it up once more. He held the ball 

with both hands and began to walk down the hallway, still 

looking for his grandmother. 

"Joseph!" he heard his grandmother's voice call.

Joseph reached the landing at the top of the stairs. He 

grinned happily and stuck one hand in between the spindles 

of the staircase and waved. "Hi Gan'ma!" he called. 

Joseph stood on his tiptoes and dropped his new toy over 

the edge of the banister. He squealed happily as he 

watched it fall through the air.

The ball landed with a thump that made Martha wince. She 

walked over to look at what he had dropped and was 

surprised to discover a globe almost identical to the one 

that had been in the ship with Clark when they had found 

him. She picked up the globe and stuck it in the large 

pocket of her apron to examine later before climbing the 

stairs to get Joseph. 

Martha leaned down and picked him up. "How would you like 

to go help Grandpa, scout?" she asked as she swung him 

around to straddle her hip. 

"Jo'eph help," he said with a sunny smile.

Martha laughed and kissed him on the cheek before heading 

downstairs. She couldn't help but think, as she carried 

Joseph into the kitchen, that she and Jonathan were getting 

far to old for this kind of thing... Her son was on another 

planet, her daughter-in-law was under light sedation 

upstairs, the same aliens who had taken her son away had 

taken her granddaughter as well, and they had a two year 

old to chase. Life couldn't get much more interesting than 

that.

****

Kirim handed Kiley a nightgown and helped her pull it over 

her head. As Kiley scrambled into bed, Kirim picked a book 

of Kryptonian fairy tales to read for a bedtime story. She 

walked over to the bed and pulled up the blankets around 

her young charge. "Lin'dra," she began, "I have some news 

for you."

Kiley looked up at her worriedly, "Is it good?" She asked.

"Jal'her'a, it's very, very good," Kirim picked up a brush 

and began to run it through the child's hair.

"What does jal'her'a mean?" Kiley asked.

Kirim laughed softly. "It means "little one," she said as 

she began to braid Kiley's hair. They had gone through a 

similar routine every night since Kiley had joined them. 

At first, the heir had resisted having anyone in on her 

bedtime regimen. She had informed everyone that she could 

manage on her own... at least until they got to New 

Krypton... and her father. She had stringently objected 

the first few nights to having her long hair braided--her 

parents had never braided it at bedtime, so why should it 

be braided now?

"Jal'her'a, I talked to the captain today..." Kirim got to 

the end of the braid and bound it securely with a ribbon. 

"He said that we should reach New Krypton in about a 

week..." she brushed the remaining curls at the end of the 

braid into one ringlet. "Which means that you'll get to 

see your father very soon."

Kiley turned around and looked at her hopefully. "Does 

that mean that Daddy and me can go home?" she asked.

"Lin'dra, I'm afraid not... at least not right away..."

Kiley sighed and settled down in the big bed. "Okay, " she 

said, sounding resigned. "I miss Mommy and Joseph and 

Daddy."

"I know, jal'her'a, I know." Kirim caressed Kiley's hair 

gently, pulled out the book, and began to read Kiley a 

story. She finished the story and, with a quick kiss on 

Kiley's forehead, Kirim stood up to leave the room. 

"Goodnight, Kiley," she said softly.

Kiley watched her leave the room before sliding out of bed 

and kneeling beside it. She carefully folded her arms as 

she had been taught and began to pray. "Please, God," she 

began, "make them let Daddy and me go home soon..." 

Kirim sighed as she heard the small voice through the 

cracked open door. Not for the first time, she wondered 

how they could have conspired to cause this one family so 

much heartache. As Kiley's voice continued to speak in her 

room, Kirim quickly went through her own nightly rituals 

and slipped into her bed with an electronic book for 

company. She hoped that they could defeat Nor quickly...

****

Lois opened her eyes and slowly began to scan the room. 

She vaguely remembered the events of the previous day. She 

glanced at the clock and was surprised to discover that it 

was already past Joseph's bedtime. How could she have 

slept so long? Her eyes widened as she remembered one fact 

about the day before--the New Kryptonians had taken her 

daughter.

"Kiley," she whispered as her eyes filled with tears. Lois 

hugged the pillow close to her body as silent tears slipped 

down her face. Once again, her child had been stolen from 

her while she was asleep. This wasn't even something they 

could report. What would she say? 'Officer, aliens stole 

my little girl?' They'd send her to the state asylum 

immediately. It was a story worthy only of the Dirt 

Digger.

Lois took a deep breath and tearfully began to compose 

herself to talk to Clark. Over the past few weeks, the 

daily telepathic communication had made it easier to talk 

to him like that. By now, it was almost second nature to 

be able to hear him... Clark? she sent as she wiped 

away more tears. Sweetheart?

Lois, what is it? I've been worried... Clark's anxious 

voice sounded in her head.

Clark... they came... and took... Kiley Lois's tears 

began to fall faster as she thought of her missing 

daughter. Was she okay? cold? hungry? scared? 

Lois, honey, she's okay. I promise. Zara says that the 

Council was in contact with Kirim right after they left 

Earth, and they should be in range for images today. 

Lois felt a warm feeling sweep over her, just as if Clark 

had just pulled her into an embrace. Did Zara order 

this? she demanded as her tears began to slow. I 

fainted when I found the note and hit my head.

Are you okay, honey? I don't know what I'd do if 

something happened to you! To answer your question... Zara 

didn't know until we got here and she found a room prepared 

for her. She's promised to get her home as fast as she 

can... and Ching says that his oath to you extends to Kiley 

as well. Clark concentrated on sending his love and 

support through the bond. He could 'feel' that she was 

crying and he wished he could hold her and comfort her as 

he had so many times before.

I'm fine! Lois sent impatiently. Promise me that 

you'll make sure that she'll be okay? 

I promise, sweetheart. I love you. Zara says to tell 

you that she plans on keeping Kiley close to her, and that 

she will personally guarantee that both of us will be home 

soon. She says that the globe will show you holograms of 

Kiley and probably even me when I'm near her... it's 

something to do with the chip they're putting in her arm... 

Zara says that they'll deactivate it when she can manage to 

get us home...

Clark, Lois began, I love you, too

Honey, get some rest... please? I need you and the baby 

to be healthy... Clark wished he were there, holding his 

beloved.

As her worries for Kiley began to recede, Lois yawned. The 

conversation with her Clark had taken more out of her than 

she realized and she was suddenly tired again. She smiled 

sleepily... it almost felt like Clark was beside her, 

holding her close. She knew he was on New Krypton, but she 

could practically feel his familiar warm bulk beside her, 

the weight of one of his hand on her stomach while it felt 

like the other one was occupied in stroking her hair. I 

will... love you. Lois drifted off to sleep, holding the 

images and feelings close to her heart.

****

Jonathan walked quietly into Lois's room. He hadn't been 

able to sleep, so he had gotten up to check on his family 

one more time. Logically, he knew that the bodyguards were 

outside to make sure that they would be safe, but it was 

his responsibility to protect his loved ones. Jonathan 

lowered himself into the chair next to the bed and looked 

at Lois.

Jonathan pushed her long hair away from her face and 

caressed it gently. He was exceedingly thankful that she 

would be okay. He had loved her as if she were his 

daughter long before she and his boy had even started to 

date. As far as he was concerned, she was as much his 

daughter as Clark was his son. 

Jonathan stood and straightened the bedclothes. He 

carefully pulled them up around her, concerned that she 

would get cold. Years ago, he had performed the same 

joyful task for his little boy. He remembered those days 

with nostalgia as he leaned over the bed and kissed his 

daughter on the cheek. Jonathan gave the blankets one 

final pat before walking quietly out of the room. 

He strode down the hallway and entered Joseph's room. He 

crept up beside the child's bed and watched Joseph sleep 

for a few minutes. He smiled at the sight of Joseph curled 

up on his tummy with Ted E. Bear underneath one arm.

Silently, he crept out of the room, crossed the hallway, 

and entered the master bedroom. As he slid back into the 

bed, Martha cuddled up next to him. "Are the kids okay?" 

She asked sleepily.

"They're fine, Martha," Jonathan answered. He put his arms 

around his wife and stooped down to steal a kiss from her. 

He leaned back against the pillows and closed his eyes--the 

morning would come far too soon.

****

Captain Foler stared off into space lost in thought. He 

*had* to talk to his charges... he daren't let them go 

anywhere without a bodyguard... perhaps even two. If Nor 

had come when they had taken Lord Kal-El's concubine--wife 

to receive medical attention, the damage would have been 

irreparable. He was a captain in the Elite Guard... the 

last line of defense between the headcases and assassins 

and the Royal Family.

His people owed Jonathan and Martha Kent a great debt. 

They had taken in an orphaned foundling from another 

universe and raised him to be a good man. Without them, 

Lord Kal-El might not have been worthy of his heritage... 

His duty would have gone unanswered while Nor took over the 

planet... and perhaps more. Foler wasn't kidding himself; 

he had long known the evils that some men would stoop to in 

order to gain their selfish desires. Nor was, perhaps, the 

most evil man he had ever come across.

It was his privilege and honor to protect the parents that 

had raised his Lord as well as Lord Kal-El's Terran wife 

and their children. He prayed to the One that Nor would 

ignore this small family... with only three men under his 

command, it was unlikely that they could hold off a 

superior force. Briefly, he wondered if the Kents would 

trust them... After all, they had taken away both Kal-El 

and the little girl. Fervently, he hoped they would--if 

Nor decided to come after them, he and his men were their 

best hope for survival.

With a shake of his head, he got up and walked over to the 

bedding he had laid out earlier. It was night here, and 

his guard shift would come around far too quickly. Between 

the four of them, they were maintaining a twenty-four hour 

watch on the house to make sure that no intruders entered 

it. Vidi was currently on duty and he would be up in 

another three hours. He lay down on the blankets and 

closed his eyes. Foler's last conscious thought was that 

he would have to speak to Lord Kal-El's family in the 

morning to make better arrangements for their protection.

****

Martha walked into Lois's room, carrying a tray of 

breakfast. She carefully set it down on the desk before 

turning to Lois, who was sitting on the edge of the bed 

with her feet dangling over it. "Lois, honey, what are you 

doing trying to get out of bed?" Martha said reprovingly. 

"But, Martha--Mom, I need to..." Lois gestured in the 

general direction of the bathroom.

Martha strode over to the side of the bed and helped her 

stand. "All right, I'll help... but after that you are 

going straight back to bed." She put her arm around her 

daughter and supported her as they walked over to the 

bathroom. When Lois emerged, she helped her back to bed 

and placed the tray over her lap. 

Listlessly, Lois picked up her fork and began to move food 

around on her plate. Despite the conversation with Clark 

the night before, she was still very worried about Kiley. 

Where was her little girl? Was she okay? Sad? Hurt? Lois 

pushed the tray away. "Thanks for bringing me breakfast, 

Martha, but I'm not hungry." she plucked at the bedclothes 

and wished that Clark and their little girl were with her. 

Suddenly, she remembered the globe that Clark had mentioned 

the night before... "Martha," she began, "Clark mentioned 

something about a globe... he said that it was left for us 

when Kiley was taken..."

"It's in the pocket of my apron downstairs," Martha said.

Lois swung her legs over the side of the bed. "I'll get 

it," she asserted.

"Lois Ellen Lane-Kent!" Martha began. "You get back into 

bed, eat your breakfast, and take your medication! The 

doctor said you were to stay in bed for at least a week."

"But..." Lois began.

"No buts, young lady! I'll get the globe for you." 

Martha's voice softened. "Honey, you have to take care of 

yourself and the baby... I'll get Joseph and the globe... 

You just stay in bed and rest!" 

After watching to make sure her daughter followed her 

instructions, Martha hurried down to the kitchen, grabbed 

the globe, picked up Joseph, and headed back upstairs.

"Gan'ma?" Joseph questioned as she hoisted him up onto her 

hip.

Martha brushed a kiss across his cheek. "Your Mommy's 

awake, scout... I thought you'd like to go see her..."

Joseph's face brightened. "Jo'eph see Mommy?"

"Yeah, scout... we're going upstairs to see her." Martha 

opened the gate and climbed the stairs, closing the second 

gate behind her. Joseph squirmed excitedly, impatient to 

get to Lois.

Martha walked into Lois's room and deposited Joseph on the 

bed. "*Mommy*!" he squealed as he threw his arms around 

her. "Mommy beder?" he asked.

Lois hugged Joseph tightly. "I'm better, sweetie." She 

smiled at him, thankful that the New Kryptonians had not 

taken him as well. Clark, bring Kiley home! she sent 

quickly.

Joseph leaned down and kissed Lois's stomach. "Hi baby." 

Joseph laid his ear against his mother's abdomen. A few 

minutes later he looked up at her with round eyes. "Jo'eph 

hear baby heardbead." He said as he kissed her stomach 

again. "Baby come out soon." He said sternly, crossing his 

arms across his chest.

Lois laughed. He looked so much like Superman... She 

hugged Joseph again before shooing him off the bed. "Go 

play, sweetie," she said softly. "Mommy has some work to 

do... we'll read some stories together later, ok?"

"Okay, Mommy," Joseph said sweetly before running out of 

the room.

Lois watched him go before she turned to Martha. "Thank 

you," she said quietly.

Martha came over and gave her a much-needed hug. "Oh, 

honey, you're welcome!" Martha placed the globe in Lois's 

lap and gathered up the breakfast tray. "I'll be back in a 

little while... I think maybe that message is meant for 

you..." Martha left the room and shut the door tightly 

behind her.

Lois stared at the globe as it took light and began to 

glow. Carefully, she reached out and picked it up. 

The globe took off from her hand and began to float upward. 

Her mouth tightened into a frown as a hologram issued forth 

from the object. Twelve men sat upon padded chairs in 

front of her. One of them stood and began to address her. 

"This missive is for Kal-El's Terran wife. I am Sarn-Ra, 

Speaker for the Council. I am addressing you in the 

language of your people, rather than our native 

Kryptonian... If you are viewing this message it means that 

Lady Kirim-Wys has succeeded in her mission of acquiring 

the Heir for a journey to New Krypton so that she may be 

protected from the nefarious Lord Nor. Milady, please 

believe me when I assure you of her continued safety and 

well-being."

"Your child will be given everything and protected by the 

Elite Guard until such a time when it will be safe for her 

to be returned to you. When you wish to see her, hold this 

globe in your hand, concentrate on her, and her image will 

appear. Milady, please accept the gift of the bodyguards. 

By the laws of our society, since you were not united to 

Lord Kal-El on our world, you are considered a concubine... 

However, as a member of the House of El, you are entitled 

to our protection. Thus, we have sent four members of the 

Elite to you to make sure that Nor cannot harm you, your 

child, and Kal-El's adoptive parents."

"Be well. May your mind be at ease. Be safe, Milady." The 

image winked out, and the globe floated down to rest in her 

hand, leaving Lois alone in silence. She took a deep 

breath and concentrated on Kiley while looking at the 

globe. A screen like hologram emanated from the globe. 

She watched for a few long minutes as the image panned 

across a heavily decorated curvilinear room and settled 

upon a familiar little face.

Kiley was sitting on a crooked-legged chair dressed in 

rich-looking, unfamiliar dress, flipping through a book 

filled with strange characters. Clarkie-bear sat upon her 

lap, while Annie, dressed in an identical outfit, sat 

beside her. Lois's breath caught in her throat as her baby 

girl looked up suddenly... a hint of sadness peeped out of 

her large brown eyes. Her hair, instead of the familiar 

braids, was arranged in cascading curls with jeweled pins 

holding it back from her face. 

With an aching heart, Lois watched as Kiley set the book 

down on a nearby table and picked up her toys. Kiley's 

mouth moved as she told them something and tears began to 

slip from the corners of her eyes. Lois reached for the 

image, desperately wishing that she could hold her little 

girl and wipe away the tears. As her hand penetrated the 

hologram, the image vanished.

Carefully, Lois put the globe on the nightstand before she 

rested her hands on her knees. She could talk to Clark, 

but she could neither see nor touch him. She could see 

Kiley, but comforting her was an impossibility. "Why?" she 

whispered hoarsely as she rolled over, buried her face in 

the pillow, and began to sob.

Martha, who had been walking by Lois's room, heard her 

daughter's sobs and entered. She walked across the room, 

silently sat upon the side of the bed and began to pat Lois 

on the back, offering what comfort she could.

****

Kiley clung tightly to Kirim's hand as the shuttle began 

its final approach to the landing pad near Ka'tra'anl. 

Frightened, she held Clarkie-bear close to her while Annie 

dangled from her hand. With a soft bump, the ship landed 

and the door appeared. Kirim tugged gently on her hand as 

she began to walk toward the opening in the side of the 

ship. Obediently, Kiley walked with her and exited the 

small shuttle. 

Kiley stood in front of the throngs of people shyly as 

Kirim spoke in an unfamiliar language to the waiting masses 

and they began to cheer. Her head jerked up as she 'Felt' 

a familiar presence that had been missing for the past few 

months. She dropped Kirim's hand and began to scan the 

landing platform. With a squeal of glee, she ran across 

the pad and threw herself into her father's arms. 

"*Daddy*!" she yelled as his arms came up around her and he 

lifted her up.

"Kiley!" he exclaimed, his face breaking into the first 

real smile that any of the New Kryptonians had ever seen 

from him. She wrapped her arms around his neck tightly, and 

her toys fell unheeded to the ground. Clark held her close 

to him, thankful that he finally knew she was safe... at 

least for the time being. He still wasn't all that happy 

that she was on New Krypton at all, but it felt good to be 

able to hold his little girl once more.

He had heard from Lois the night before and was horribly 

worried for her. Old Doc Robinson had been by to see 

her... Still unhappy with her condition, he had decreed 

another week in bed was the answer. He needed to tell her 

that their little girl was with him... and that between 

himself and Zara, she would be safe. "I missed you, 

punkin'," he said quietly and he caressed her hair gently 

with one hand.

"I missed you, too, Daddy," she said, burying her face into 

his shoulder. She pulled back for a second and looked at 

him through tear-filled eyes. "You're not leaving again, 

are you?"

Clark kissed her on the cheek softly. "I'm not going 

anywhere, sweetie... you are going to stay near me or your 

Aunt Zara until both of us get to go home to Mommy, okay?"

Kiley nodded, laid her head on his shoulder once more, and 

began to cry. She had missed him so much... and being 

surrounded by total strangers for so long had been pretty 

hard. 

Clark patted her back soothingly and began to walk toward 

the edge of the platform as Ching picked up Kiley's 

forgotten toys. He walked down the steps leading to the 

platform and was immediately approached by Lord Sarn-Ra.

"Lord Kal-El," he began, "We must have her Naming 

immediately... right now, by Kryptonian law, she is 

Nameless... and thus not protected."

Clark looked at Sarn-Ra in exasperation. "She *has* a 

perfectly good name," he began, "her name *is* Kiley 

Christine Kent... and that's enough of a mouthful for a 

little girl her age."

Sarn-Ra shook his head. "But that is her *Terran* name... 

she must be traditionally Named in order to be your legal 

issue. Otherwise, she is simply an unwanted, Nameless 

orphan... Her name is after her grandmothers... 

traditionally that is."

The corner of Clark's mouth quirked up. "She has three," 

he began, "What's her name supposed to be... Lara Martha 

Ellen-El? I think I much prefer the name her mother and I 

gave her!"

"No, Milord... Unfortunately, the Terran grandparents do 

not count... by the laws of our society, Zara is legally 

her mother... Her name is Lara Ziveh- El." Sarn-Ra said.

Clark glanced at the Speaker, anger evident in his 

expression. "*Zara* is not my little girl's mother... Her 

*mother* is at home on Earth... where both of us belong!" 

Clark took advantage of his longer legs and strode ahead, 

whispering comforting words to the small child who still 

snuggled up to him, holding onto him as if she would never 

let go.

Sarn-Ra tagged after his Lord, trying desperately to keep 

up. Zara, he sent. Lord Kal-El is being... 

difficult about the Naming.

Well, wouldn't you be in his position? she sent back, 

sounding irritated. Try and put yourself in his place! 

Here you are, happy and secure. You have a wife who loves 

you, parents who love you, and two adorable little ones. 

Suddenly, these strangers come out of nowhere and you have 

to go with them to prevent assassins from murdering your 

family. Next you're taken to a strange place, married off 

to someone who *isn't* your wife. Then your eldest child 

is stolen from your wife, brought to where you are, and 

you're told that her name has to be changed and that her 

mother is not legally her mother? Wouldn't *you* be just a 

*little* difficult about it?

Sarn-Ra sighed. I think I see what you mean... but the 

Naming must take place, you know it as well as I.

I'll talk to him... the Ceremony wasn't completely set up 

yet, was it?

Not quite...

We'll have the Naming, Lord Sarn-Ra... I promise... it's 

too necessary to forego.

Sarn-Ra watched as Lord Kal-El entered the royal transport, 

still cradling the Heir close to him. It was obvious both 

from his reaction and Zara's that his child was special... 

She was their hope for the future of New Krypton. In a 

way, he did understand his lord's reaction to renaming 

Lara, but it was necessary. 

She must have the names appropriate to her station in life. 

Lara Ziveh-El would someday be their leader--she would 

follow in her parents' footsteps and become the ruler of 

New Krypton. Silently, he entered his hovercar and gave 

his driver orders to drive to the palace. There was much 

to be accomplished before the Naming.

****

Zara paced slowly toward the grand entrance hall of the 

palace. She had wanted to accompany Clark to get Kiley, 

but some pressing business had come up at the last minute--

Nor had started moving troops a little closer to 

Ka'tra'anl. He had pulled back upon Kal-El's arrival, but 

it seemed as if he had decided to start pushing again... 

just a little. Fervently, Zara hoped that they would be 

able to solve this problem quickly, without incident.

As much as she abhorred the Council's actions in bringing 

Kiley to New Krypton, the pragmatic side of her was 

extremely glad of her presence. It would do the people 

good to see the Heir, the hope for their future, standing 

beside herself and Clark. With a clear line of succession 

tangibly established, it would be much harder for Nor to 

begin his civil war. 

It also helped that Kiley Kent could easily charm any adult 

she came into contact with. Zara had been in touch with 

the captain of the ship... not only had he been quite taken 

with the Heir, but she had also managed to wrap every 

crewmember she met around her little finger. That kind of 

charisma would be extremely useful...

She reached the grand entrance hall and settled down in a 

chair by the door to wait for Clark and Kiley. She had to 

convince him to go through the Naming--without it, they 

could not legally put her under the protection of the Elite 

Guard. She understood his point of view, but they too had 

to follow the Law.

Zara stood and exited the building to wait for Clark and 

Kiley on the front steps. She smiled sadly as their 

transport pulled up to the entrance and opened. "Welcome 

home, Milord," she said quietly. Other vehicles pulled up 

behind the transport and people began to disembark. Zara 

took Clark's hand in hers as he came to stand beside her 

and face their people. "Citizens of New Krypton," she 

began, "We wish to have time with Our daughter before her 

official Naming; We have been separated for far too long."

The people immediately dropped to their knees and crossed 

their arms over them. Then, they raised their arms crossed 

against their chests, closed fists near their shoulders, 

and bowed their heads. "Yes, Milady," they said in unison. 

At Zara's words Kiley stiffened in her father's arms before 

she began to take a more active interest in her 

surroundings, her tearstained face peering interestedly 

over her father's shoulder. Tentatively, she extended her 

hand and waved to the assemblage. Several of the people 

smiled, gratified to see their hope waving to them.

I'll explain inside. Zara telegraphed as she tugged 

Clark toward the door. Quickly, they strode towards the 

royal chambers. Zara opened the doors quickly and motioned 

Clark and Ching inside, leaving the rest of the bodyguards 

to guard the doors. She motioned them over to the chairs 

and watched them sit before taking a seat herself. She 

watched as Clark shifted Kiley so that she was sitting in 

his lap.

"Clark," she began in English so that the child might 

understand, "I'm sorry, but the Naming must take place." 

Zara regarded Kiley seriously.

"But--" 

"I know," she affirmed quietly. "Kiley, I'm Zara... You 

can call me Aunt Zara if you like."

Kiley looked at her solemnly. "You're one of the people 

who took my Daddy away," she began reproachfully. "And 

outside you said that you're my mommy. You're *not* my 

Mommy!"

"Kiley," Zara began, "Come here, please? I promise that 

you can go back to your Daddy in a few minutes."

Kiley looked questioningly up at her father. At Clark's 

nod, she obediently slid off his lap and walked over to 

Zara. As she stood in front of her, she kept looking back 

at Clark, as if looking away would make him disappear.

Zara reached out and gently took Kiley's hand. "Jal'her'a, 

I know I'm not your Mommy and I have no wish to try and 

take her place." Gently, she brought her hand up to the 

little girl's face. "Kiley, I promise that I will take you 

and your Daddy back home so you can be with your Mommy and 

Joseph..."

Kiley looked up at her hopefully. "Promise?" she asked.

"I promise." Zara affirmed.

"But why did you tell all those people that I'm your little 

girl?" Kiley looked puzzled.

"Lin'dra," Zara began softly, "Because your Mommy and Daddy 

weren't married here on New Krypton, the laws here don't 

recognize that they're married... I'm going to try and fix 

that, too... Kiley, according to the laws here, I'm your 

mother--it's so that you're protected from the bad people 

like Lord Nor. We're going to make sure that you're safe 

until I can take you home... until then, I need you to stay 

close to me and to your dad, okay?"

Slowly, Kiley nodded. "Who is Lord Nor?" she asked.

Zara brushed Kiley's hair back over her shoulders. "Lord 

Nor is a very bad man who wants to be King of New Krypton. 

Your dad came here to help us make sure that doesn't 

happen--to keep you safe."

Kiley began to look fearful. "Does he want to hurt me? 

Did I do something bad?"

Carefully, Zara leaned forward and took the unresisting 

child into her arms. "Jal'her'a, you did nothing wrong," 

she began, hugging her gently. "And Lord Nor will never 

hurt you; I won't let him... Your dad won't let him."

Kiley looked at Zara trustingly. Her Daddy trusted this 

person... and she could 'Feel' that Zara was telling the 

truth... there was also something behind her words; it was 

the same kind of fierce protectiveness that she had 

sometimes felt from her mother... Kiley put her arms around 

Zara's neck and impulsively kissed her on the cheek. "Aunt 

Zara," she began, "Won't people think it's funny if I call 

you that?"

Zara looked at the child in surprise. The caress had 

surprised her, but this statement surprised her even 

more... the child was only four cycles old! "Lin'dra, you 

may be right... but your mother is at home on Earth, and I 

won't ask you to call anyone else but her 'Laj'hon'a'." 

Zara stroked Kiley's hair as the child hugged her tighter. 

Clark, thank you for letting me explain this, she sent.

Zara, you know more about this than I Clark answered, 

his mind-voice full of wry irony. I wouldn't know how to 

explain this to her... your customs and laws are just plain 

strange!

I'm going to send her with Ching for a few minutes... We 

need to talk about her Naming. Zara thought at Clark.

I don't see why she needs another name. I *like* the one 

Lois and I gave her! Clark telegraphed waves of anger at 

even the suggestion of stripping yet something else from 

his little girl.

Clark, calm down. I promised to explain, and I will! 

Zara sent before turning her attention back to Kiley. The 

mental exchange had been quick--Kiley still clung tightly 

to her as Zara's hand continued to caress the child's hair. 

Zara lifted the child and held her on her knee. "Kiley, 

are you okay with this?" she asked quietly.

Kiley burrowed closer to Zara, aware of her only as a 

source of comfort and solace. "Noooo..." came the muffled 

reply. "I want my Mommy... I wanna go home and Daddy come 

too."

"I know, lin'dra, I know." Zara rested her cheek on the 

top of Kiley's head, holding her close. "I promise that 

everything will be okay..." Gently, she began to broadcast 

waves of comfort and love to the child, letting her know 

without words that she was loved, cared for, and would be 

protected.

Slowly, Kiley pulled away and began to look around. 

"Where's Clarkie-bear and Annie?" she asked suddenly.

Zara pressed a kiss to the child's brow before she 

answered. "I think I saw your friends with Ching," she 

said softly. 

Ching smiled, stood, walked across the room, and kneeled 

beside them so that he was at eye-level with the child. "I 

think these are yours," he said with a gentle smile, 

holding the dropped toys out to her.

Gravely, Kiley took the toys from him and cuddled them. 

"You're the other person who took Daddy away," she began. 

At Ching's nod, she pushed on. "And you love Aunt Zara 

like Mommy and Daddy love each other... are you going to 

marry her?"

Ching smiled and gently took Kiley's hand in his. "I'd 

like to," he said, "But there are lots of things we have to 

fix before I can do that... If I'm really lucky, and if she 

says yes, I'll get to marry her after you and your Daddy 

get to go home... Would you like to see your room? We'll 

come back in a few minutes, but I think your Dad and your 

Aunt Zara need to talk."

Kiley looked at Clark questioningly. "Daddy?" she said 

hesitantly, unsure if going with this stranger was a good 

idea.

"It's okay, punkin'," he said quietly, "You can go with 

Ching and I'll be there in a few minutes. I'll be right 

here if you need me; I love you."

"All right, Daddy," she began, "I love you, too." Kiley 

slid off Zara's lap and smiled up at Ching. "Okay," she 

said, and followed him as he began to lead her down the 

corridor.

Zara watched them go with a small smile adorning her face. 

"She's beautiful, Clark," she said quietly.

"I know... she looks like Lois..." he began softly. "Zara, 

what is this 'naming' and why does Kiley need a new one? 

Her name is perfectly good!"

Zara pulled her hair away from the back of her neck and 

attempted to twist it up before replying. "Every 

Kryptonian child who is claimed by their parents has a 

Naming. I guess you could say that it is similar to a, um, 

christening?" She looked at Clark questioningly, not sure 

if that was the proper term. 

She let her hands fall to her lap as her fingers played 

with the skirt of her gown. "Only if the parents refuse the 

Naming, then they refuse the child... refusing the Naming 

is tantamount to denying the child's existence. 

Fortunately, such a thing is rare... and when it happens, 

the child is legally an orphan... in that case they are 

offered for adoption and their adoptive parents follow 

through with the ceremony." 

Clark stared at her, appalled. "You mean that if this 

ceremony is not performed, the parents have *abandoned* the 

child?"

"For all intents and purposes, yes." Zara stated quietly. 

"Fortunately, there has never been a shortage of couples 

willing to adopt... You can see why we must have a Naming 

for Kiley; if we do not, she will be lost to us forever." 

Clark slumped in his chair, his posture a gesture of 

defeat. He looked at Zara, his unhappiness over the 

situation showing clearly on his face. "But why do we have 

to change her name?" he asked quietly.

"This, too, is tradition... Any child of the royal 

household is named after their grandparents. At least, for 

public usage. The preferred method for girls is that both 

names are chosen as a token of both Houses... boys are 

usually named after their paternal grandfather." Zara 

twisted a strand of hair around her finger. "Kiley's name 

on the records *must* be 'Lara-Ziveh-El', traditionalists 

will say that you are disowning her otherwise. If she grew 

up here, she would then choose a name to go by. For me, it 

was Zara; she could be Lara *or* Ziveh. However, her new 

name will only be temporary--I promise that I will get both 

of you home."

She looked at him sorrowfully. "I wish it were different 

in this case, Clark, but this is the way our society has 

worked for over a thousand years. Many of the problems 

your world has had with unwanted children don't really 

exist here because of all of this."

Zara met his eyes squarely, looking serious. "All of our 

children have homes where they are loved and cared for... 

It's not a perfect system, but it *does* work... at least 

for the most part. Our world is like any other--we have 

our good people, our bad people, and people who are a 

mixture of both... just like your world. But our 

traditions and laws have alleviated or minimized many of 

the problems that Earth still faces."

Clark looked at her with resignation in his eyes. "Is 

there nothing we can do about this? Kiley has already been 

ripped away from home... must her name be stolen as well?"

Zara stood, walked across the room, and laid her hand on 

his arm. "Clark, she is still Kiley--her name will only be 

different on the records. Many families name their 

children traditionally and call them by different names..."

Clark sighed and slumped down in his chair. This still 

bothered him immensely, but nothing about his situation was 

comfortable. "I guess if it must be done... When will it 

happen?"

Gently, Zara took his hand and squeezed it reassuringly. 

"This afternoon," she said before releasing his hand. "It 

will be all right, Clark. Kiley will stay near us... Nor 

will not get his hands on her, I promise." Zara stood and 

quickly walked across the room to the hallway. She wanted 

to check on Kiley and Ching--just in case. She strode down 

the hallway and quietly entered Kiley's room.

Zara smiled as she found Kiley curled up in Ching's lap as 

he read her a story. He'll make a good father someday, 

she thought. She turned as she heard Clark enter the room 

behind her. 

Kiley's head shot up, she slid off Ching's lap and once 

again hurled herself at her father. "Daddydaddydaddy!" she 

called happily.

Clark simply laughed and scooped her up in his arms. 

"Kiley, punkin'," he began, "Zara promised that you would 

get to see me in a minute..." He hugged her tightly, happy 

to have his little girl... the only physical link to his 

Lois he had... in his arms. 

"I know, Daddy," Kiley began, "but I missed you."

Clark kissed her on the cheek and hugged her fiercely. "I 

love you, punkin'," he said softly. He walked over to the 

Kryptonian equivalent of a rocking chair and sat down, 

settling Kiley on his lap. 

"I love you too, Daddy," Kiley replied, throwing her arms 

around him.

"Sweetie, would you tell me how Mommy, Joseph, Grandma and 

Grandpa were doing before you came here, please?" Clark 

asked, tickling her gently.

"They're okay, Daddy," Kiley replied. "Mommy cries lots 

'cause she misses you... I think Grandma cries some too... 

When are we going home?"

Zara, not wishing to intrude upon the reunion, gestured to 

Ching and quietly exited the room, leaving Clark to answer 

his daughter's questions. "Ching," she said softly, "Will 

you stay outside Kiley's door and make sure that they're 

not disturbed for a while? I get the feeling from her that 

she's missed him terribly... and they deserve some father-

daughter time..."

"Of course," he replied quietly. "You're right... they 

need a chance to reconnect--we all know that the children 

from a Kreh'kle'vshta union have a special relationship 

with their parents... and that they need the contact that 

we have denied them by taking Clark from Earth... We must 

resolve this soon, or we will have performed a great 

disservice to the House of El..."

Zara stood on her tiptoes and stole a quick kiss from him. 

"Thank you," she said with a smile. "I have to go contact 

the Council about the Naming... I love you." She ended 

quietly.

"I love you, too," he answered with a broad smile. "I'll 

make sure that they're not interrupted... now hurry! The 

sooner we can get through this, the sooner we can figure 

out what to do about Lord Nor."

Zara threw him one last smile before entering the quiet of 

her bedchamber. She sat gracefully in a soft chair before 

she prepared to contact the Council. Lord Sarn-Ra she 

sent quickly and waited for an answer.

Milady? came the response.

The Heir's Naming will proceed on schedule; we will see 

you this afternoon.

Yes, Milady. It will be done.

****

Lois corrected the last sentence of the article, opened her 

email, and sent it to Perry. She was thankful that it was 

the last article of the day; being an editor wasn't exactly 

her favorite thing to do. She closed down her laptop and 

carefully put it on the nightstand beside the bed.

Lois settled back against the pillows and considered 

getting out of bed. She knew that she was supposed to stay 

put, but she was tired of not being allowed to get up. 

She didn't think getting up to stretch would do any harm, 

but it was extremely hard not to get caught. If she didn't 

know better, she'd think that Martha had somehow gotten 

superhearing from Clark. It was uncanny how her mother-in-

law always managed to show up just as she was either 

getting up or thinking about doing it. 

Distantly, she heard the phone ringing downstairs. She 

smiled briefly; with Martha distracted, it would be the 

perfect time to get up and walk around for a bit. Lois 

pushed back the blankets and swung her legs over the side 

of the bed. Carefully, she stood up and began to try and 

work some of the kinks out.

Lois grimaced as the baby began to turn somersaults. "Shh, 

little one," she whispered, rubbing her stomach. "Mommy 

just needs to move around a bit; she doesn't do sitting 

still very well." She walked over to the door, determined 

to stretch her legs before going back to bed. Just as she 

was about to grasp the doorknob, the door opened.

"Lois!" Martha said. "Honey, you need to get back to bed!"

Lois pushed some hair behind her ear. "But Martha--Mom, I 

just wanted to get up to stretch," she looked at her 

seriously. "You know that I'd never do anything to hurt 

the baby!"

Martha, momentarily forgetting the phone in her hand, put 

her arms around Lois and hugged her tightly. "I know, 

sweetie," she began softly, "but you still need to go back 

to bed!" She carefully escorted Lois back over to the bed 

and helped her into it. 

As Martha began to pull the blankets up around Lois, she 

belatedly remembered the phone she still held. "Lois, 

honey, your mom is on the phone for you," she held out the 

phone to Lois, hoping she would take it.

Lois grimaced before taking the phone from Martha. She 

knew her mother loved her, but she was always difficult to 

take--Clark was one of the few people who could always 

manage to deal with her. "Hello, Mother?" she said, 

speaking into the phone.

She winced as her mother began a tirade about her actually 

having the audacity to get out of bed in her condition. 

"Mother," she interrupted, "One, I'm pregnant, not dead and 

two I was only getting up to stretch... You know I would 

never do anything to hurt the baby... Yes, I know that the 

doctor wants me to stay in bed and that he has me on 

medication because the baby tried to come far too early... 

Mother, you are *not* coming to Smallville to take care of 

me-- I'm *fine*... Yes, I've heard from Clark--he's okay 

too... You're *what*? No! Mo-ther! " She handed the 

phone to Martha , sighing heavily.

"Martha," she began pleadingly, "Please? Can you convince 

my mother *not* to fly out to Wichita tomorrow?"

Martha took the phone and laid her hand on Lois's arm 

gently. "I'll try, Lois," she said quietly. 

She put the phone up to her ear. "Hello, Ellen... You 

really don't need to come out here to see us... We're 

perfectly fine--and we're taking good care of Lois... Old 

Doc Robinson comes by every week to check on her and he's 

just a phone call away... Ellen, yes, I know that you're a 

nurse... Right, you are qualified to take care of Lois... 

We live on a *farm*, we handle more pregnant creatures in a 

year... Yes I know that Lois isn't a farm animal, Ellen, 

she's your daughter and that you love her... Sam *is* a 

good doctor--and it would save in medical bills... *Ellen* 

the Planet health insurance is paying for this... You two 

do *not* need to fly out to Wichita tomorrow! Of course it 

wouldn't be an imposition... but you're coming anyway and 

you'll stay in a motel if you have to? You insist and you 

won't take no for an answer? You remember how to get to 

the farm from your last visit so you're renting a car and 

driving out from Wichita? Ellen, you *don't* need to do 

this!"

Martha sighed heavily. "We'll see you and Sam tomorrow," 

she said, sounding resigned as she disconnected. "I'm 

sorry Lois," she began quietly, "your mother has determined 

that you need her and I could barely get a word in 

edgewise. Your parents will be here tomorrow."

Lois reached for Martha's hand and squeezed it briefly. 

"The only person who can talk her out of things like that 

is Clark," she whispered. She looked up at Martha. "I 

miss him," she said simply, "I want him home--not haring 

across the universe with Kiley tagging along behind him." 

A single tear escaped and rolled down her cheek.

With gentle fingers Martha reached out and brushed it away. 

"I know you do, honey. Being able to talk to him isn't the 

same as having him with you," she brushed a strand of hair 

away from Lois's face. "A few years after we'd gotten 

Clark, Jonathan had to go on a cross country trip because a 

distant uncle had died and he was the only living relative. 

I couldn't go because Clark had just started school, and we 

couldn't take him out for the amount of time it would take 

to make the trip. Jonathan called every night, but it just 

wasn't the same." Martha put her arm around her daughter 

for support. "I know what you're going through, honey," 

she finished quietly.

Lois drew in a deep, shuddering breath. She had thought 

that she had no more tears to shed, but sometimes it was 

brought home to her how much she needed her husband. 

Thankfully, she clung to the promises that he and Kiley 

would return home as soon as they could--she didn't know 

what she'd do if Clark didn't come back. Realistically, 

she knew that she would have to keep going; Joseph and the 

baby would see to that. However, she didn't see exactly 

how she could manage with Clark completely gone from her 

life. If the connection between them was ever severed, she 

wasn't sure that she could live--it would merely be an 

existence. "Thank you for trying, Martha," she said 

softly.

Suddenly, a thought crossed her mind that made her push 

herself into a more upright position. "How are we going to 

explain Kiley's absence and the bodyguards to my parents?" 

she asked.

Martha took a deep breath. "Between the three of us, we'll 

think of something..."

****

Captain Foler strode the perimeter of the Kent farm, 

watching alertly for any sign of trouble. So far it had 

been an easy assignment, but they couldn't afford to become 

complacent. They had obtained Earth clothes in order to 

fit in when they accompanied the Kents whenever they left 

the safety of the farm. Every morning at the crack of dawn 

they held practice; it simply wouldn't do to grow flabby 

from lack of exercise or to lose one of their charges for 

lack of fighting trim.

There were also these new... powers that they had somehow 

developed. He made sure that all the members of his team 

learned to control them as quickly as possible. It was 

obvious to him that unless they controlled these abilities, 

the new gifts might end up controlling *them*. It was also 

a horrifying thought that unless the powers were brought 

under control, they could seriously injure or even kill the 

very people they had been sent to protect.

Long ago, each one of them had sworn an oath to keep the 

members of the royal houses from harm. It was their duty, 

their honor, their joy. Being a member of the Elite wasn't 

just a job--it was a way of life. It was their birthright. 

From childhood, those born in martial families trained 

diligently in hopes of being accepted into the Elite. They 

were the best of all and received special training to 

protect the House of Ra and the House of El from assassins 

and worse.

The nobility were usually given some form of self-defense 

training. It was frightening for him to think that if Nor 

decided to attack, he and his men were not just the last 

layer of protection, they were the only thing standing 

between the House of El as it currently existed and total 

annihilation. With that sobering thought in mind, he 

continued his patrol, making sure that the protections had 

not been breached.

****

Ching watched Kiley and Clark, a soft smile spreading over 

his face. Watching them, he couldn't help but think of 

his plans for the future. Someday, he wanted what Clark 

had. He wanted to marry Zara and raise a family with her--

just as Clark was doing with his Lois. As he looked at 

Kiley, he dreamed of holding a little girl of his own--just 

as pretty and smart as she was. 

After all the time he had spent dreaming of Zara, he was 

ready to settle down with her. However, the problem of Nor 

must first be solved, the Ceremony of Union annulled, and 

they must obtain permission from the Council of Elders to 

marry. Carefully, he closed the door to Kiley's room and 

moved into the sitting room to wait for Zara. Here in the 

Royal Apartments, under layers upon layers of ancient 

shielding, it was unlikely that Clark and Kiley would be 

disturbed. He understood their need to reconnect. After 

all, it was obvious that Clark was his baby's hero--and he 

had been away from her for over a month. The little one 

needed to assure herself that her dad was really there. 

Lost in thought, Ching started a bit as he 'felt' Zara come 

up behind him. He turned around, reached out, and took her 

hand in his. "Hi," he said quietly. "Is everything taken 

care of?" Smiling slightly, he gazed down into her eyes.

Zara reached up and gently caressed his face with the back 

of her hand. "Yes," she began softly, "The Naming is set 

for this afternoon." She looked at him as a troubled 

expression settled on her face. "This whole mess is our 

fault--if we had sent Nor to the mind-healers when he first 

started showing signs of madness, none of this would have 

happened! Instead, we let him go on his merry way until we 

had to go and fetch Clark from Earth to sort out the whole 

fiasco." Agitated, Zara yanked a strand of hair, as if 

tugging on it would do some good. "Now not only have we 

torn him away from his life, but we've stolen his daughter 

as well and we're about to rename her and steal more of her 

identity! What kind of monsters are we?"

Ching reached out and gently grasped Zara's arms. 

"Ka'lindra, we're not monsters. We're stupid at times, 

misguided at others, but for the most part, we're not bad 

people." He slid his hand under her chin and tilted it up, 

forcing her to look at him. "Zara, you know as well as I do 

that this couldn't be foreseen. It's one of the inherent 

problems with customs like birth-marriages--things happen 

that we can't always control. Everything *will* be okay. 

I promised Lois that I would bring Clark home. That *will* 

happen. We'll solve our problem with Nor and take Clark 

and Kiley back to Earth where they belong." 

Ching reached out and pushed Zara's hair out of the way. 

"We'll convince the Council to let us get married before we 

take them," he said softly. "I love you too much to watch 

them sacrifice you to an alliance-marriage." Carefully, he 

gathered her into his arms and held her close.

Comforted, Zara slid her arms around his waist. "I love 

you, too," she murmured softly. She pulled back for a 

moment, and tipped her head up, silently asking for a kiss.

Ching smiled as he brought his head down close to hers. 

Her eyes fluttered closed as he hesitated for a moment. 

Slowly, he brought his mouth closer until it hovered over 

hers. He brushed his lips gently over hers once before 

capturing them for his own. He swept his tongue over her 

slightly parted lips. As she immediately opened her mouth 

and melted into the kiss, he slipped his tongue inside her 

mouth and began to explore every crevice. A few moments 

later, he breathlessly broke off the kiss and leaned his 

forehead against hers. "I love you," he whispered 

hoarsely.

Zara planted a quick kiss on his lips. "I know," she said 

as she took his hand in hers. "I hate to intrude on Kiley 

and Clark, but I have to find clothes for her to wear to 

her Naming. Come on," with that, she tugged him back down 

the hallway toward Kiley's room. She stopped in the middle 

of the hallway and turned to look at him. "Would you mind 

going into Clark's room and getting out the clothes he 

should wear to the ceremony?" Zara asked quickly.

Ching leaned down and kissed her quickly. "Not at all," he 

said, a smile crossing his face. He took her hand in his 

as they resumed walking towards the sleeping chambers.

****

Lord Nor looked in the mirror and smoothed a wrinkle out of 

his tunic. He had to look perfect for the Heir's Naming. 

It simply wouldn't do to meet the First Lord, the First 

Lady, and the Heir dressed anything less than immaculately. 

He knew better than to hope that they had not informed Lord 

Kal-El of the present political situation, but it was 

common knowledge that people who lived on backwater 

dirtballs like Earth were more gullible.

It was entirely possible that the fool would be trusting 

enough to play into his plans. Tak's mother should be 

getting him dressed as well. It was imperative for the 

children to get along if he were to succeed. None of the 

members of the nobility had yet been introduced to Lord 

Kal-El. The Heir's Naming would most likely be used for 

that purpose, so their formal best would be required. 

Nor smiled evilly. If he could convince Tak to play with 

Kiley, it would be simplicity itself to take her with them 

upon leaving the palace. Technically, kidnapping the Heir 

would mean execution on Traitor's Hill, but since he would 

soon rule New Krypton, it shouldn't be a problem. He just 

had to find a way to lure Zara away as well. Soon he could 

marry Zara as he had always wished to and the betrothal 

between Tak and the Heir would be solemnized. He just had 

to find a way to rid himself of Kal-El's hold over the 

people.

As a thought impinged upon his consciousness; Nor threw 

back his head and began to laugh. He knew exactly what to 

do...

****

Quietly, Zara crept into the room and over to Kiley's 

closet. She opened the door and began going through the 

clothes, looking for the naming dress she knew would be 

there. Finally she located it hanging in the back. She 

pulled it out before turning to Clark. A slow smile 

crossed Zara's face as she took in the sight of Kiley, fast 

asleep on Clark's lap as he rocked her gently.

Clark looked up and smiled suddenly. "I don't think she's 

really been sleeping very well," he began softly as he 

brushed his daughter's hair tenderly away from her face. 

"A few minutes after you and Ching left the room, she just 

kind of dropped off."

Zara walked quietly across the room and gently kissed the 

child on the top of her head. "The Naming isn't for a few 

hours, so we can let her sleep--I just needed to find the 

proper clothes for her to wear at the ceremony."

Clark simply tightened his grip on Kiley, his posture 

showing that he was still uncomfortable with the idea. "I 

still don't like it," he said softly. He looked down at 

his little girl and smiled as she sleepily cuddled closer 

to him.

"I know, Clark," Zara said as she turned around to lay the 

clothes on the child's bed. "I promise that this will only 

be temporary--she's still Kiley Christine Kent as far as 

I'm concerned... and still yours and Lois's daughter."

Clark stroked Kiley's hair gently, thankful to be holding 

his baby girl. "I know," he began, "but she doesn't belong 

here--neither of us do... despite all of the precautions 

we've taken to make sure she will be safe; she is in danger 

here. If she were still at home with Lois, Nor couldn't 

find her to put her at risk." He looked up at Zara, his 

mouth twisted into a wry smile. "With that damn chip in my 

arm, I had no choice but to come--I thought that my little 

girl had more options than I did.

Clark rested his cheek on the top of Kiley's head. "Lois 

and the kids need me... I set my priorities about saving 

the world a long time ago--my family needs me more than the 

world does."

Zara turned to face him hesitantly. " It's important that 

you stay here with us for the time being... It wouldn't be 

that hard for Nor to find your family; Tez did it and there 

are records of where your ship originally landed. It's 

common knowledge in the Council that it landed in 

Smallville, Kansas. Clark, I know we haven't made much 

progress concerning Nor... It's just a matter of time."

"How much time?" Clark asked urgently. "A week? A month? A 

year? Longer than that?"

"I don't know," she answered quietly. "I just don't know."

Kiley stirred and opened her eyes. "Daddy?" she asked, 

hoping that it hadn't just been a dream.

"It's okay, punkin'," he began softly, "I'm right here."

Kiley threw her arms around his neck and hugged him 

tightly. "I thought I dreamed you," she said quietly.

Clark returned the hug and kissed her on the cheek. 

"Punkin', I'm right here and I'm not going any further from 

you than the next room if I can help it, I promise."

Kiley buried her face in his chest and snuggled closer to 

him. "Don't g'way," she murmured sleepily. Her eyes 

drifted closed as she fell asleep again.

Clark held his daughter securely, wishing he were at home 

with Lois. Their separation still ached, despite the 

telepathic connection between them. He desperately wanted 

to have both his wife and their son in his arms so that he 

could hold them close to him as well. He pressed a kiss to 

Kiley's forehead and halted what Zara had started to say 

with a single look as he continued to rock his sleeping 

little girl. When he returned to them, he wasn't sure if 

he would ever want to let go.

****

Martha reached out a hand to steady Lois as they walked 

slowly down the stairs. She had wanted to hold this family 

meeting upstairs in Lois's room, but her daughter-in-law 

had insisted upon having it downstairs in the living room 

where they could all sit down comfortably. 

As they reached the first floor of the farmhouse, Martha 

ushered Lois over to a comfortable chair in the living room 

and took a seat by Jonathan on the couch near her. 

Lois settled back on the cushions and smiled as Joseph 

abandoned the pile of blocks in the corner, came over to 

her, and held up his arms in a wordless plea. She picked 

him up and settled him on her ever-diminishing lap before 

looking up at her in-laws.

"What are we going to tell my parents when they show up 

tomorrow?" she asked quietly. "How can we explain Kiley's 

absence and the presence of four bodyguards that insist on 

keeping tabs not only on us, but on everyone who comes to 

visit? And how can we explain their developing 

superpowers?"

Martha cleared her throat and glanced over at her daughter-

in-law. She knew Lois was desperately in need of cheering 

up... A smile stole over her face as she thought of 

something that just might work. She shot Jonathan a look 

that plainly said that he should follow her lead before she 

began. "We could tell them that the President lost his pet 

chipmunk--the little critter jumped out of Air Force one--

and these nice gentlemen are here to find and retrieve it." 

Her smile grew broader as she continued. " They might just 

have to stay a while longer because it's taking forever to 

find that wily chipmunk!"

A slow smile spread over Jonathan's face. "Do you think 

that they'd believe that they're well-intentioned paranoid 

farmers from down the road... and that they're sleeping in 

our barn because they're afraid of rabid chickens and 

that's why they're so shifty-eyed and have guns?"

"What about this?" Martha asked mischievously, "Someone's 

taken one of our cows and left a complete mechanical 

duplicate instead, and we don't want those rascals getting 

away with it again!" She looked over at Lois. "Would they 

buy that?"

The corners of Lois's mouth began to turn up into the 

beginnings of a smile. "No more than they'd buy that 

there's kryptonite under the snow that's making it come 

alive and start eating small animals, pets, and children," 

she said as a hint of laughter began to lurk in her eyes.

A wide smile began to spread over Jonathan's face. "How 

about hay is worth a disgusting amount of money now and 

they're here to protect it... or we found a vein of gold or 

diamonds on the property?"

"Jonathan!" Martha groaned, slapping him lightly on the 

arm. "We could always say that Wayne Irig's bull won't 

stop trampling my flowerbeds!"

Lois looked at Martha skeptically. "In November?" She 

smiled suddenly as she realized that she could use 

something she had said years before... by now, both 

Jonathan and Martha had heard about her old opinion of 

small towns. "We could tell them that there was a robbery 

in town... someone got away with $20 from the register at 

the Tasty Freeze and we got nervous..."

"We could say that they're on loan from the mental 

institution because they've been having fantasies about 

living on a farm... it's a program sort of like the Make-A-

Wish Foundation runs," Martha suggested.

Jonathan considered it for a minute before shaking his 

head. "Martha, Ellen wouldn't like us if she thought we 

were letting more loonies get near Lois and the grandkids." 

He smiled suddenly. "We could tell her parents that the 

bodyguards are from the military's experimental 'Fresh Air 

Fund' outreach program."

"They're not bodyguards, they're exchange students," Lois 

suggested as she began to laugh.

Martha ran her hand through her hair absently. "They're 

the prototypes of the next generation of genetically 

engineered soldiers..." She grinned suddenly, "then we say 

that we could tell them more but then the soldiers would 

have to kill them!"

Lois started laughing harder. "My father would love 

that... We could say that Clark has another family and his 

other wife is jealous and has tried to kill us... But when 

Clark gets back, I'm afraid that my mother would find a way 

to kill him if we use it!"

Martha grinned, "They're delivering Clark's Cheese of the 

Month shipment, and they have to deliver it in person, so 

they're hanging around until he gets back?"

Jonathan groaned. Over the years, the Cheese of the Month 

club had become something of a family joke. "*Not* one of 

our boy's best excuses! How about: 'Look around. Open 

lands, no one around... just one more little fence between 

us and the rest of the world.' Would that work?"

"I don't know," Lois gasped as she struggled to stop 

laughing. "It sounds like you're paranoid and planning on 

turning the farm into a cult complex or something!" She 

took a deeper breath as her laughter began to die down. 

"Let's be serious now... we need a really good excuse," she 

said quietly as she hugged Joseph. 

She looked down at her son and smiled. He was sucking on 

his thumb contentedly as he leaned against her, his big 

brown eyes staring intently up into her face. She knew 

that Martha and Jonathan had been taking good care of him 

while she had been stuck in bed, but she had sorely missed 

having him cuddle up to her like this. It was almost his 

nap time anyway, and if they were lucky, he would soon fall 

asleep. 

Holding her baby boy like this made her long to have Kiley 

back in her arms. She needed to feel her little girl's 

arms thrown around her neck once more just as desperately 

as she needed Clark back. It seemed as if an eternity had 

passed since he had left with the New Kryptonians almost 

two months before. Telepathic communication simply wasn't 

enough.

Lois kissed Joseph lightly on the crown of his head before 

turning back to her in-laws. "As fun as that was, we have 

to come up with *plausible* explanations... I'm not sure I 

really want to tell my parents the truth," she finished 

quietly.

"I know you two told them before," Jonathan began 

hesitantly, "but with what your father does, I'm not sure I 

want him to know either... I know it's probably silly, but 

I just can't seem to dismiss the idea that there are some 

crazed scientists out there that would love to get their 

hands on Clark... and the little ones," he fell silent for 

a moment as he stared at his hands. 

He studied them carefully, as if his life depended on it. 

They were work-worn, calloused--worn with years of wresting 

a living out of the soil to provide for his family. For 

most of his life, he had used them, not only to till the 

dry Kansas dirt, but also in succoring and protecting his 

loved ones. He sat for a few more moments, lost in 

thought. "We could tell them that Clark is undercover in 

the government at the behest of the President... and that 

he sent secret servicemen to make sure that if Clark's 

cover is broken the bad guys won't be able to come after 

us."

Martha nodded shortly. "That's plausible enough to work... 

we could say that friends of the family offered to take 

Kiley with them on their trip to Disneyland to explain her 

absence. But Ellen is planning on staying until the baby 

is born, so it won't hold up forever." Martha stood and 

walked across the room to where Lois sat. "Honey, we have 

to face it; Sam and Ellen will probably have to be told the 

truth. If it were only Clark being gone and the 

bodyguards, we could explain it away... but with Kiley on 

New Krypton, we're going to have to tell them the truth."

Martha took Lois's hand gently. "Sweetie, I know that this 

is hard, but it's something that you're going to have to 

talk over with Clark... Telling your parents that you two 

have been lying to them for over six years is going to have 

immediate consequences on both of you." She leaned down 

and dropped a swift kiss on the top of her daughter-in-

law's head.

Lois looked up at Martha and sighed. "I know, Martha... I 

know. I've known all along... I've just been fighting it." 

She hugged Joseph tightly. "Last time, knowing that Clark 

is Superman brought my parents nothing but misery--I just 

don't want them to go through that again..."

"Whatever you decide, Lois, we'll support you," Jonathan 

stated firmly.

Martha squeezed Lois's hand reassuringly. "I understand 

sweetie... will you promise me that you'll at least think 

about it and talk it over with Clark?"

Lois nodded slowly and pushed Joseph's hair back from his 

forehead. "I will," she said softly.

Martha leaned over and gently pulled a sleeping Joseph off 

of Lois's lap. He stirred slightly as she settled him on 

her shoulder, but soon fell back into a deeper sleep. 

"It's time for this young man to be in bed," she said 

quietly.

Lois let go of Martha's hand and struggled to stand up. "I 

want to put him to bed," she said hesitantly.

"Lois," Martha began, "You know you're not supposed to 

carry anything heavy... and Joseph definitely qualifies." 

Lois looked at Martha pleadingly. "Please? I just want to 

tuck him in--I haven't in weeks!"

Martha looked at her daughter-in-law for a minute. Lois 

had a fair imitation of Clark's lost-little-puppy-dog look 

adorning her face. She shook her head and sighed before 

helping her up. "I'll carry him for you," she said simply.

Jonathan watched them go upstairs and chuckled. There were 

few things that would vanquish Martha faster than that 

look... of course Clark had taught Lois to use it to her 

best advantage. Slowly he stood up and headed out the back 

door. If Ellen and Sam would be arriving the next day, he 

had bodyguards to talk to.

****

Lois leaned over Joseph's crib and tucked the blanket in 

around her sleeping son. "Have a nice nap, scout," she 

said softly. She pressed a kiss to two of her fingers and 

touched him on the forehead. "I love you."

Joseph stirred and opened his eyes. "Song, Mommy?" he 

said, pulling his thumb out of his mouth.

Lois tugged the blanket back up and began to rub his back. 

"Of course, sweetheart," she answered. She began to sing 

his favorite lullaby quietly. She watched, smiling 

inwardly as his eyes began to slip closed. As the last note 

of "Brahm's Lullaby" died away his eyes shut completely and 

the sound of his soft breathing told her that her baby boy 

had fallen asleep again.

She smoothed his blanket one last time before leaving the 

room and gently shutting the door behind her. Martha was 

right--she needed to talk to Clark. She met her mother-in-

law on the way past her room and reached out to give her a 

hug. "Thanks, Mom," she said quietly.

Martha hugged her back before placing her hands on her 

hips. "You're welcome, sweetheart. Now back to bed young 

lady." 

Lois sighed, made her way into her room, and climbed into 

bed. She needed to talk to Clark anyway... and she might 

as well be comfortable doing it. Clark? she 

telegraphed and waited for an answer.

Lois? Honey, are you okay? came the answer. You 

don't usually contact me in the middle of the day... Kiley 

is asleep in my lap right now.

Is she okay? Lois sent anxiously.

She's fine--just tired. I don't think our little girl 

has been sleeping well since they took her.

Clark? Keep her close to you. If she's with you, then I 

know she's safe...

I promise, honey.

Sweetheart, we've got a problem. My parents decided that 

they were the best choice for taking care of me, so they're 

going to be here tomorrow...

Honey, are you okay with it? He sighed mentally. I 

wish I were there... If I were, they'd have no reason to 

come.

Not really... but we can't talk my mother out of it. 

Clark, I may have to tell them the Secret.

Honey, I love you. Your dad took it pretty well the last 

time, and your mom didn't flip out too badly, so if you 

have to tell them, then do it. We'll deal with the 

consequences when I get home.

Are you sure? And... is home still here on Earth? I 

mean, you said that Zara was treating you like a brother 

now, but she's kinda pretty, if you like that style, and 

you *are* married to her... she sent, her mental voice 

sounding small and scared. 

Lois, honey--home is wherever you are. Are you sure that 

this is the same Lois Lane that once said, 'Don't fall for 

me, Farmboy' to my face? Clark teased gently. I told 

you a long time ago that it's always been you, and it 

always will be. I love *you*. Forever. You're stuck with 

me, because I'm hopelessly stuck on you.

Lois smiled as she felt his hand caress her hair and push a 

strand of it behind her ear. Clark, it's just that I'm 

so fat now... and you're so far away...

Honey, you're not fat, you're *pregnant*--and extremely 

beautiful. And I'm coming home to you...

How do you know that? You haven't seen me in almost two 

months!

Darling, you're *always* beautiful, but you're even more 

gorgeous when you're pregnant. I love you, Lois. You and 

our kids mean *everything* to me.

I love you, too, I miss you... I even miss being 

teased! she sent as she felt the faintest hint of 

pressure on her lips. It was as if he were giving her the 

barest whisper of a kiss. Sweetheart, stay with me for a 

while? Baby Kent is starting to demand a nap... stay until 

I fall asleep?

Of course, honey.

I love you, sweetheart. a small smile turned up the 

corners of Lois's mouth as she felt his solid presence 

settle in beside her. Intellectually, she knew that he 

wasn't really there, but she had long since stopped 

questioning how she felt after talking to him. It almost 

always felt like he was really there, holding her close to 

him, offering her comfort when she most needed it. She 

sighed softly as she felt his arms settle around her and 

slipped into a dreamless sleep.

****

Jonathan strode out to the barn, intent upon speaking to 

the captain. Quietly, he walked through the door, his eyes 

scanning for the familiar face of Captain Foler. A man 

stepped forward out of the shadows and challenged him.

"Milord. How might this humble servant be of service to 

you, O adoptive father of Kal-El?" the man asked, bowing 

low.

"Lieutenant Vidi? That is your name, right?"

"Yes, Milord."

"Lieutenant, I'm looking for Captain Foler--do you know 

where I can find him?" Jonathan asked quietly. He wasn't 

really comfortable with all of the bowing and scraping that 

these strangers seemed to find necessary in his presence, 

but he supposed he could deal with it until Clark came 

home.

"Yes, Milord; I will get him for you." The young man 

closed his eyes for a few minutes. He appeared to be 

having an internal conversation, perhaps even an argument. 

"Milord, Captain Foler will be here shortly," Lt. Vidi 

said, bowing low once more. "Is there anything else I may 

do, Milord?"

"Please stop all of the bowing to me?" Jonathan pleaded. 

"It makes you stick out around here--this is Kansas, not 

medieval Europe! And, please... call me Jonathan... or Mr. 

Kent if you must!"

"Yes, Milord," Lt. Vidi said quickly. "er... um... Mr. 

Kent. What else do you require?" 

"Nothing, thank you," Jonathan said quietly.

Lt. Vidi started to bow before he caught himself. He 

grimaced and walked away, shaking his head and muttering 

about Terrans and their strange customs. After all, bowing 

to one's Lord was only polite and proper. They owed it to 

him to show the proper respect--as the man who had raised 

their First Lord, Jonathan Kent was entitled to the 

greatest of honors. 

Because of him, their world could be saved from the ravages 

that Nor would heap upon it. It was to be heard in 

whispers only that Nor was bent upon dragging their world 

into Darkness--only Kal-El could prevent it. All of the 

ancient prophesies pointed to him--the child raised on 

another world who would, because of what his parents taught 

him, stop a madman from taking over Krypton. They also 

said that through his example and that of his child, he 

would lead their world into a Utopia... Lt. Vidi shook off 

those thoughts and returned to his duties.

A few minutes later, Captain Foler strode quickly through 

the door. "Milord Kent," he began. "What might this humble 

servant do for your lordship?" He said as he bowed low. 

Jonathan shifted from foot to foot, still uncomfortable 

with the strange behavior the Kryptonians exhibited in his 

presence. "Captain," he said softly, "We have company 

coming. Lois's parents will be here tomorrow and there are 

some things you have to know--they don't know about you and 

they don't know where Clark came from. They don't know 

anything other than that he's adopted... and they really 

don't know that he and Kiley are on New Krypton."

"Yes, Milord," he answered softly, "I see how that could 

cause... problems. I will order the men to keep a low 

profile and to practice these new... abilities we have 

developed where Milady's parents will not see us." He 

looked at Jonathan quizzically. "Will that suffice, 

Milord? I realize that having at least one of us accompany 

you when you venture out is not very convenient to this 

situation--but it must continue for your own safety."

Jonathan sighed. "I don't see why we're not safe in 

Smallville," he grumbled softly.

"Milord," Captain Foler began, "Smallville looks safe to 

me... but I am sworn to my duty and currently that is to 

make sure that you, as Lord Kal-El's father and the rest of 

his Terran family is safe from the likes of Lord Nor." He 

bowed deeply once more, his palms flat against his thighs. 

"Until the Council of Elders says otherwise, you are my 

Lord and I and my men will protect all of you with our 

dying breath. We are sworn to this--breath, blood, and 

body. We will keep you, Lady Lois, Lady Martha, and Master 

Joseph safe... I believe our vow now includes Lady Lois's 

parents as well. Until the problem with Nor is resolved, 

we are yours--we owe you allegiance."

Hesitantly, Captain Foler stepped forward and laid his hand 

on Jonathan's shoulder. "It is our pleasure and honor to 

serve you, Milord," he finished.

Jonathan reached out to grasp the Captain's hand. "I know 

you probably had as little choice as to coming here as my 

son did when he left for New Krypton," he began quietly. 

"I just wanted to let you know that the Lanes will be here 

sometime tomorrow..." He looked up at the earnest young man 

and marveled how, in so many ways, this bodyguard reminded 

him of Clark. "...and to say thank you. I also have to 

ask you to stop bowing all the time--we don't do that here 

in Kansas... tell your men not to as well, it makes you 

stick out like a sore thumb... and please, call me 

Jonathan."

"You are welcome Milord... Jonathan. I will inform the 

men... Now, if you will excuse me, I must go tell my men of 

this news--we have two more people to protect." With 

another low bow and a nod, Foler strode out of the barn and 

headed off into the fields.

Jonathan watched him go for a moment before heading up to 

the house. Hopefully, Lois had talked it over with Clark 

and would know what to tell her parents when they got there 

the next day. He had yet to see Ellen Lane truly upset, 

but he had a feeling that she was the source from which his 

daughter-in-law had inherited her legendary temper... and 

he was sure that if Lois and Clark decided to tell the 

truth, they would most likely receive a dose of it.

****

Zara laid her hand on Clark's arm. "It's time, Clark," she 

said softly. "I hate to wake her up, but I need to get her 

dressed for the ceremony."

"Let me do it, Zara," Clark asked quietly. "I'll get her 

ready to go..." He caressed Kiley's hair gently. "It's 

time to wake up, sweetie. C'mon Kiley-bug, wake up."

Kiley's eyes fluttered open slowly. "Daddy?" she said 

hesitantly.

"I'm right here, sweetie," he said softly, hugging her 

tightly.

Kiley's lower lip quivered. "We're still on New Krypton... 

away from Mommy and Joseph, aren't we?"

"Punkin', I promise that we'll go home as soon as we can; I 

miss Mommy and Joseph too."

Kiley hugged Clark and buried her face back in his chest. 

"I love you, Daddy."

"I love you, too, sweetheart," he replied. Clark stood up 

and settled her on his hip. "It's time to get dressed, 

punkin'... we've got that silly Naming ceremony that they 

want us to do."

"Don't wanna," Kiley mumbled. "I wanna go home."

"I know, sweetie," Clark answered softly. "I want to go 

home, too. But we're stuck here for a little while... and 

it's time to get you dressed. Okay?" He stroked her hair 

gently, unwilling to break contact with his small daughter. 

She was his physical link to Lois--at times in the past 

month, he had almost begun to think that his life on Earth 

had been a dream when compared to the realities he was now 

living. Holding Kiley made it seem real--his Lois and 

their life was waiting for him on Earth. And he would give 

anything to be back there at that moment.

"Okay, Daddy," Kiley said, sighing softly as she laid her 

head against his shoulder.

Clark dropped to his knees beside the bed and set her down 

carefully, giving her one more gentle hug and kissing her 

on the cheek before he released her. "Come on, punkin', 

it's time to get you ready to go." He pulled the dress off 

the bed and held it out to his baby girl. "They want you 

to wear this, Kiley," he said quietly.

Kiley scuffed the toe of her shoe against the ground before 

she turned around so her daddy could unfasten the buttons 

on her dress. "I can't reach, Daddy," she said softly.

Clark unbuttoned the old dress and carefully pulled it off 

before putting the new dress on Kiley and buttoning it up 

for her. Just as he was reaching for the soft slippers 

that matched the dress, Kiley turned, hurled herself at 

him, linked her arms around his neck, and refused to let 

go. "Don't g'way, Daddy," she said as a sob caught in her 

throat.

He stroked her back gently and held her as he seated 

himself on the floor. Clark rearranged Kiley so she was 

sitting in his lap. Slowly, he began to rock back and 

forth, comforting her. "Shhh," he began, "I'm not going 

anywhere, sweetie."

Slowly, Kiley's sobs quieted. She pulled back from him for 

a minute and dropped her arms, tearstains still evident on 

her face. "Promise?" she asked, a quaver in her voice.

"I promise," he affirmed quietly as he produced a 

handkerchief and wiped away the traces of tears from her 

face. He brought the handkerchief up to her nose and held 

it there. "Blow," he said.

Obediently, Kiley blew her nose into the square of cloth 

before cuddling up closer to her daddy.

Clark rested his cheek on her hair as he began to rock 

slowly back and forth. Kiley had never been a very clingy 

child, but he recognized her need to stay close to him--

hell, he needed his baby near him as well; two months away 

from Lois, Kiley and Joseph were two months too long!

Zara dropped to her knees beside them and, sensing Clark's 

inner turmoil, laid her hand on his arm. "Everything will 

be okay, Clark," she said softly. She tugged off Kiley's 

shoes gently and replaced them with the matching soft 

slippers. " Lin'dra," she said, "I promise that everything 

will be okay--I plan to either keep you with me or with 

your father until it's safe to send both of you home." She 

reached out and touched the child's cheek lightly. "Now, 

the Naming Ceremony is soon... will you let me fix your 

hair and get you ready while your Daddy goes to change 

clothes? He'll be right across the hall..."

Kiley nodded hesitantly and hugged Clark fiercely. "You'll 

just be across the hall?" she asked.

"I'll be back as fast as I can," he said reassuringly.

"I guess it's okay then," she said. "I love you, Daddy."

"I love you too, Kiley," Clark answered, hugging her 

gently.

Kiley stood up and held her hand out to Zara. "C'mon, Aunt 

Zara," she said, the beginnings of a smile on her face. "I 

guess we have to play pretend until we can go home."

Zara took Kiley's hand and squeezed it lightly. "Yes, we 

do, lin'dra, but it will only be for a short time, I 

promise." They walked hand-in-hand over to the small 

dressing table. She lifted Kiley up, set her on the bench 

in front of the table, picked up a brush and began to brush 

out the long curls.

Clark watched Zara brush and arrange Kiley's curls for a 

few minutes before he left to go change clothes. He 

grimaced; he really wasn't looking forward to getting 

dressed up in high court gear--it was a nuisance. With a 

heavy sigh, he picked up the first heavily embroidered 

silken garment and pulled it on.

****

Lord Nor walked slowly down the hallway to Tak's suite of 

rooms. Much still had to be accomplished before he could 

take over, but he was confident that it would not be long 

before he came into power. He entered his son's room 

quietly, glancing around to find the child. "Tak!" he 

called. 

It was absolutely necessary to bring the child with him to 

the palace if his plan were to succeed. Nor paced back and 

forth as he impatiently waited for Tak to appear. His 

mouth tightened into a grimace--the boy was taking far too 

long. "TAK," he shouted with both voice and mind.

Tak-Nor sidled slowly into the room, his big blue eyes wide 

with suppressed fear. "Yes, Father?" he said, his voice 

higher than usual with terror. He had seen his father in 

moods like this before--usually before his mother got a 

beating, and he was sure that if he did anything to provoke 

him, he would be his father's next victim.

"Come here, boy," Nor said gruffly. He didn't want to hurt 

or frighten the child--at least not while Tak was still 

useful to him. After all, though he could always breed 

more sons, none of them would be the right age, as this one 

was now, to cultivate the heir. Such opportunities were 

not to be wasted.

Tak walked slowly toward his father, dragging his feet. 

"Yes, Father?" he repeated, calmer now.

"Tak, son. Today we are going to the naming of the heir. 

You are to be nice to her--she will be useful to me."

"C-c-can Laj'hon'a come?" Tak asked hesitantly.

"No, your mother can *not*. In fact," Nor smiled cruelly, 

"she is dead to you until I get the power that rightfully 

belongs to *me*--and she *will* be dead unless you do as I 

say."

Tak bowed his head to hide the tears that had begun to 

gather in his eyes. "Yes, Father," he whispered, sure that 

his mother would die soon--and it would be his fault. 

"Good boy!" Nor crooned. As he reached toward the boy, Tak 

held himself very still, trying desperately not to flinch 

as his father ran his hand through his hair to tidy it. 

"Now let me take a look at you--you must be presentable to 

meet the princess." He looked critically at Tak before 

nodding in satisfaction. "You'll do." He held out his 

hand imperiously to his son. "Come child. We must leave 

for the palace." Nor turned and hurried out of the room. 

After a few moments, Tak followed, trotting at his father's 

heels.

****

Zara twined one of Kiley's curls around her finger, coaxing 

it into a long ringlet. She glanced down at the child as 

she moved on to the next curl, noticing the sad expression 

on her face. "What's the matter, little one?" she asked 

quietly, reaching for a jeweled pin that lay on the 

dressing table.

A single tear trickled down Kiley's face. She sniffed and 

wiped it away before answering. "I wanna go home," she 

said with a hiccup, "I miss Mommy an' Joseph--an' I want 

Daddy to come with me!"

Zara slid the pin into Kiley's hair before dropping to her 

knees and pulling the little girl close to her in a gentle 

hug. "I know, lin'dra, I know," she pressed a kiss on to 

the child's forehead, "I know you miss them--and that you 

want to go home. I don't blame you... they shouldn't have 

brought you here and we shouldn't have taken your daddy 

away." 

Zara began to caress Kiley's hair hesitantly. "Lin'dra, I 

promise that I will make this right--I will get both of you 

home and I won't let anything horrible happen to you."

Kiley burrowed closer to Zara, aware of the adult only as a 

source of comfort. "Promise?" she asked, her voice 

quavering a little as she hiccuped again. 

Zara gathered her closer, heedless of the tears that were 

soaking into her own Naming clothes. She began to rock 

back and forth slowly, stroking the child's hair gently as 

she sang an age-old lullaby softly. "I promise," she 

affirmed before resuming her song.

Kiley buried her face in Zara's neck and linked her arms 

around her new aunt's neck. As her tears soaked into the 

collar of Zara's ornate gown, the words of the song began 

to penetrate her grief-filled consciousness. 

"Little one, you are safe now,

Little one, you are loved.

The Darkness has passed--

the time of fear is almost over."

Kiley began to relax, not registering that the words were 

in a language more foreign to her than the Kryptonian that 

had been around her constantly for weeks.

"Little one, we will protect you,

Little one, no harm will befall you.

The Darkness cannot come here--

we have pushed it back."

Kiley yawned, giving into the soothing effect of the 

ancient lullaby. She snuggled a little closer to Zara, 

taking comfort in the first lullaby she had been sung since 

being snatched from her home.

"Little one, sleep safe and sound,

Little one, where you are is soft and warm.

The Darkness will not return--

we will keep it at bay."

Zara patted Kiley on the back, thankful that she remembered 

the traditional lullaby. She pressed a feather-light kiss 

into the child's hair, continuing her soft song. It was a 

lullaby that had lulled generations of Kryptonian children 

to sleep--its origins had long since been lost to time.

"Little one, we are here,

Little one, we love you.

The chosen one will come--

he will drive back the Darkness forever."

Kiley sighed softly as her eyes began to slip shut. She 

still longed for Home, and all that the word entailed, but 

Aunt Zara was being so nice to her. "Thank you, Aunt 

Zara," she murmured, anything further that she might have 

said was lost in a huge yawn.

"Little one, you are well,

Little one, everything is fine,

The chosen one and his child will lead us--

lead us out of the Darkness and into light."

As Kiley once more slipped into dreamland, Zara let the 

lullaby wind down slowly, the ancient Kryptonian words die 

to a whisper as she continued to rock the child slowly back 

and forth. 

Zara stood up slowly and settled the little girl in her 

arms before grabbing a handful of bejeweled pins and a 

small tiara from the dressing table. Clark? she called 

softly, not wishing to intrude upon him.

Zara? Is Kiley okay? I'm coming!

Before she could send anything else, Clark came running 

into the room still hurriedly shoving his shirttail into 

his pants. Zara looked up at him and smiled. "She's fine, 

Clark," she said quietly. "I just wanted to ask if you'd 

hold her so I can finish putting this stuff in her hair."

Clark reached over and gently took Kiley from Zara. He 

walked over to the rocking chair and sat down, settling her 

in his lap. Kiley stirred and turned towards him, burying 

her face in his shoulder. "I'd be happy to," he began 

quietly, "Kiley was our miracle child--the doctors told us 

that Kryptonians and Earth humans were biologically 

incapable of having children... I've missed holding my 

little girl." Clark began to rub Kiley's back soothingly 

as she started to move around restlessly. "Shhh," he 

murmured, "I'm here, sweetie." She quieted at the sound of 

her father's voice and slipped into a deeper sleep.

Zara grabbed a brush, walked over, and started to finish 

arranging the child's hair. She finished her preparations 

and carefully set the tiara in place, pinning it securely. 

"Clark," she began, "I'm sorry. We never should have taken 

you away from Earth--we should have foreseen what Nor would 

do; we should have prevented the necessity."

"It's okay Zara--I would rather that you hadn't come for me 

either, but we can't change the past... But to paraphrase 

something a very smart person once said to me, you're only 

one person; you can't do everything... What you can do is 

enough--and you can get us home." Clark kissed his 

daughter's cheek tenderly.

"This person sounds very wise... who is it?" Zara asked 

quietly.

"My wife," Clark answered with a wide smile.

"Want me to take her so that you can go get your boots and 

your tunic?" Zara asked quietly.

Clark shook his head. "I'll take her with me and lay her on 

my bed while I put on the rest of the stuff that goes with 

this cursed outfit," he said with a grimace. "I miss jeans 

and flannel shirts," he muttered.

Zara grinned. "I heard that," she teased gently, "I'll 

have the palace tailors come up with something--though we 

use material like that for grain sacks!" She looked at him 

speculatively, picturing him wearing aforesaid grain sacks. 

"I don't think wearing grain sacks would suit you," she 

said, mischief dancing in her eyes. "As much as you hate 

Kryptonian court gear, it *does* suit you."

Clark laughed and tugged a lock of her hair gently. "I 

never had a sister... but at times like this, I almost 

believe that you're somehow mine," he said teasingly.

Zara smiled slowly, "I think I'd like that," she said 

thoughtfully. "Now scoot! The bodyguards will be here in a 

few minutes to escort us to the Audience Chamber, and you 

need to finish changing!"

Clark laughed, tugged her hair once more and headed toward 

the door, tightening his grip on Kiley as she stirred 

restlessly. He crossed the hallway, entered his room, and 

laid Kiley on his bed.

"Daddy," Kiley moaned, stirring slightly.

"Shhh, it's okay punkin'" Clark murmured, stroking her 

hair gently.

Kiley's mouth turned upwards in a slight smile. "Stay with 

me, Daddy," she said sleepily, "don't g'way." 

Clark leaned over and caressed her cheek softly. "I won't 

sweetie."

Kiley rolled over and put her arms around her father's 

hand, trapping it as she hugged it to her and snuggled 

close. "Love you," she sighed.

Clark dropped a kiss on her forehead before gently 

extracting his hand and reaching for his forgotten tunic. 

He pulled it on with a slight grimace... he wasn't too sure 

that he liked wearing clothes like these; they were too 

fancy for a farmboy from Kansas--and they reminded him, in 

color at least, of Daniel Scardino's shirts! 

He straightened the tunic and grabbed the gold-chased belt 

that Ching had laid out for him. He put it on and grabbed 

the soft, low boots that accompanied the outfit. As he 

pulled them on, he was extremely thankful that there wasn't 

a sword to go with the mess he was wearing. He figured 

that if they had given him a sword, he could have stepped 

into any RenFaire and blended in perfectly. 

Clark picked up the last item--a thin gold circlet stamped 

all the way around with the El crest, and jammed it on over 

his head. He walked over to the mirror and looked into it, 

pulling a face at his reflection. While some Superman 

groupies might like the way he looked at that moment, he 

thought the clothes and ornaments just made him look silly. 

He walked back over to the bed and picked Kiley up. "Time 

to wake up, punkin'," he said quietly.

Kiley nestled her head against his shoulder and yawned 

sleepily. "Nuh, uh," she muttered, still half-asleep.

"Come on, sweetie--it's time to get up."

Kiley opened her eyes and looked at him. "I'm still 

sleepy, Daddy."

"I know you are, punkin'--and as soon as we get this Naming 

nonsense over with, the sooner you can go to bed, okay?"

Kiley threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly 

before planting a very wet kiss on his cheek. "Ok, Daddy." 

She looked at him and smiled sweetly--Lois's smile, he 

thought distractedly. "Daddy, can I walk an' hold your 

hand?"

"Sure you can," he said laughingly. Clark set Kiley down 

and offered the child his hand. 

She took it gravely and they walked out the door into the 

hallway where they met Zara. Kiley grabbed Zara's hand 

without hesitation and pulled both of the adults toward the 

door. "Let's get this over with," Kiley said a little 

grumpily.

****

The bodyguards met them at the door and trailed them to the 

audience chamber. Clark ignored them with resignation--he 

was becoming accustomed to having them follow him around. 

All too soon, they arrived at their destination. Clark 

swallowed nervously as he leaned down to swing Kiley up 

into his arms and settle her on his hip. 

He felt almost as if giving her another name was a 

betrayal--not just of his daughter, but of his wife as 

well. It was Lois who had chosen Kiley's name during her 

pregnancy. They had made a deal--for their first child, 

she got to choose a girl's name while he got to choose a 

boy's... Renaming his baby daughter was like sweeping away 

the last remnants of her mother's legacy to her.

He knew it was only temporary, but the thought rankled. It 

simply went against the grain to do something that could 

potentially harm Kiley. For the millionth time, he wished 

he were at home with Lois. Unconsciously, his hand stole 

up to clasp the locket she had given him. He held it 

tightly, as if by holding it, he could actually touch his 

beloved wife. He desperately wished that he had her 

strength to lean on--it was simple really, he needed her. 

Together, they could conquer anything--it was what made 

their marriage work.

Clark took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and focused on 

Lois. He thought of her smile, her small hand slipping 

into his, her arms around him when they were facing 

something truly difficult. He expelled the breath quietly 

as they approached the dais. As he opened his eyes, he 

could have sworn that he saw her out of the corners of his 

eyes. He drew in a breath sharply as he felt her arms slip 

around him and hold him tight. 

Clark stood up straighter and faced the gathering crowd, 

taking strength from the feeling of Lois's presence. 

Slowly, the last of the nobles filed in and, as one, sat 

down upon the cushioned benches that had been prepared for 

their exclusive use. 

Lord Trey stepped forward and pounded his staff upon the 

ground three times. "Let the family of the child step 

forward at this time." He stepped back and bowed low to 

Clark and Zara. Sarn-Ra and his wife stepped forward and 

climbed the dais to stand behind Zara. They were the only 

family she had left--all of the others had not heeded the 

warnings and had perished when Krypton exploded.

Ganul-Wys stepped forward, bringing his family with him. 

Kyrin and Kyrim came to stand directly behind Clark and 

Kyrin put her hand on his shoulder in a supportive gesture. 

Grsek came next, his wife, two-year old, and their newborn 

baby with him. He joined the throng behind Clark and sent 

a brief mental hello before he picked up his oldest child 

and settled her on his hip.

Trey stepped forward once more and regarded the crowd 

seriously. "Who presents the child of Kal-El to be Named?"

"We, her family do," said both families in unison.

"Bring forth the child."

Clark stepped forward and carefully set Kiley on the small 

throne prepared for her. She shot him a look of wordless 

protest at being forced to leave her daddy's arms, but 

settled into the chair and began to smile slowly at the 

crowd.

"The Naming of a Royal Child is a very blessed event. For 

years, we have been without an Heir--now the First Lord has 

been returned to us, and his Heir has been brought along as 

well." Lord Trey stepped forward and laid his hand on 

Kiley's shoulder. "People of New Krypton, the name she 

shall be known by in this life, the name that shall be 

written upon the records, and the name by which she shall 

be known in the Light to come is Lara-Ziveh-El. May the 

Darkness forever shun her and turn away from her presence." 

His hand came to rest behind the tiara on her head. 

"Lara shall be taught in the wisdom of her people so that 

one day she will govern wisely over our fair world. Oh ye 

fair ones, behold the heir to the throne of New Krypton, 

and your princess--Lara-Ziveh-El, out of the House of Ra, 

into the House of El!"

Kiley started at his words and looked around wildly. Clark 

stepped forward and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. 

She relaxed slightly, but to anyone who was watching 

closely, the signs of her fear at Lord Trey's words were 

easy to see.

The crowd stood as one and dropped to their knees before 

bowing their heads to touch their foreheads to the floor. 

"My people, you may now come forward to present your gifts 

and meet our new Heir!" Trey opened his arms to welcome 

them as they stood up and began to walk forward in family 

groups.

Kyrin-Wys opened her mind to assess the loyalty of the 

families as they came forward--just in case. After all, 

she had just rediscovered her nephew; she didn't want to 

lose him because her carelessness had allowed an assassin 

to slip by. Briefly, she wondered if he would let her 

mother his little girl a little--after all, she knew that 

he had never wanted his child to come to New Krypton. She 

thought that little Kiley might need her... the 

Lishra'kre'vatha would help.

Kyrin glanced over at Clark and narrowed her eyes as she 

saw a slight, barely-visible figure standing directly 

behind him. The shimmer of light that made up the person 

seemed to be hugging him around the waist, lending him 

support. She turned her head for a better look only to 

discover that, where she had supposed someone was standing 

was only empty air. Kyrin shook her head to clear it and 

again focused her attention on the crowd in front of the 

dais.

Her attention sharpened as Lord Nor strode forward, tugging 

his reluctant son along with him. Her mind recoiled from 

reading the sewer she knew resided inside Nor's 

immaculately groomed skull and she knew that he was not to 

be trusted, so she turned her focus to the child. She sent 

out a careful tendril of thought towards the boy and was 

shocked when she was yanked into a miasma of terror and 

guilt. She found the focus of both emotions rather quickly 

when she stumbled upon a recent memory of Nor threatening 

the little boy's mother. This memory was linked to others 

of Lord Nor beating Eyindl-Qua, Nor's concubine and Tak's 

mother.

With a shudder, she yanked herself free and made her way 

over to Sarn-Ra. Kyrin whispered her findings to the 

Speaker of the Council before resuming her place near her 

nephew. She wasn't surprised when Sarn-Ra stepped forward 

to speak.

"People of New Krypton. I am sorry to interrupt this 

auspicious occasion, but a matter that must be immediately 

dealt with has come to my attention. Lord Kav-Nor. You 

have violated the laws of our society." Sarn-Ra paused and 

waited as the people began to react to this unwelcome news. 

Lord Nor glared at his accuser and dug his fingers into the 

boy's shoulders. "Darkness!" he spat. "Why, whatever are 

you talking about?"

"One of our chief Memories has just told me of your 

behavior concerning your concubine, Eyindl-Kqa and your 

son, Tak-Nor. Such behavior is unacceptable--it is 

unlawful to beat one's concubine. It is unlawful to 

terrorize and use emotional blackmail on one's child. Kav-

Nor, it is my judgment that the child, Tak-Nor be 

immediately removed from your custody." Sarn-Ra had to stop 

again to allow the crowd to quiet down. 

"He shall reside at the palace and his needs will be taken 

care of. You are also ordered to produce the boy's mother-

-as her Lord, it is your responsibility to protect her from 

harm; not to hurt her yourself. This is the law--it shall 

be done."

Lord Nor snarled, snapped his fingers and shoved Tak 

forward. "Take the sniveling, whining brat. He is of no 

further use to me, anyway!" His mouth twisted into a cruel 

parody of a smile, "But you *will not* take my property 

from me--Eyindl has been mine since I took her from her 

House and she shall remain with me! Keep the boy--I can 

get more, stronger sons... Eyindl will do for their mother 

as well!" He turned and stalked out of the audience 

chamber, slamming the door behind him.

Tak fell to his knees and his hands hit the ground as he 

reached out to stop his face from hitting the hard marble 

floor. He pushed himself up slowly and looked at the older 

man in astonishment. "You mean that I don't have to live 

with Father anymore??? And that Mama is going to be safe?"

Sarn-Ra stepped down from the dais and picked up the seven 

cycle old boy. "Yes it does, little one. You don't have 

to be afraid anymore."

A single tear ran down the boy's face. Sarn-Ra wiped it 

away and carried him up to the dais to stand with the First 

Lord and his family. He set the child down and turned to 

face the crowd as the noble families resumed presenting 

themselves to the First Lord and his clan.

Tak began to look around him with interest, his fear fast 

fading outside of his father's presence. His eyes widened 

as he caught site of the princess. 

Kyrin could still hear some of the thoughts that were 

running through the boy's head. Absently, she noted that 

he would require training soon. He broadcast his foremost 

thought to her loud and clear--he found Kiley to be 

absolutely beautiful. Mentally, Kyrin groaned and cursed 

herself for a fool. Just what they needed; Tak-Nor 

developing a crush on Clark's daughter. She knew that she 

would have to warn Clark of this developing situation 

later. She heaved a huge sigh and turned her attention 

back to the procession of noble families.

No other family threw up the red flag--though Jen-Mai and 

his family gave her some niggling doubts. She was relieved 

when the ceremony was finally over. She watched with a 

smile as Clark picked up Kiley and carried her out the 

door. Kyrin hadn't missed the sleepiness in the little 

girl's expression. Kyrin observed Sarn-Ra as he took Tak's 

hand and led him towards the Ra's apartments. With a smile, 

she happily took her husband's arm and left the audience 

chamber.

****

Clark carefully pulled the hairpins and the tiara out of 

his sleeping daughter's hair and laid them on the dresser. 

He smiled and dropped a kiss on the top of her head as she 

snuggled closer to him. He undressed her carefully and 

pulled a nightgown over her head before carrying her over 

to her bed and tucking her in.

Silently, he dropped to his knees beside the bed and, 

taking his baby's flaccid hand in his own, began to pray 

with a fervor he thought he had lost long ago. He hated 

being away from Lois and Joseph. He hated living away from 

Earth. Most of all, he hated the feeling that he was 

powerless to protect his family. He wanted to be with 

them; to take Kiley and run back home--to Lois. Since 

fleeing back home wasn't an option, his only recourse was 

prayer--pray that his family would be safe, pray that Nor 

would leave them alone, pray that, when he finally was able 

to return, that Lois would want him back. Pray, pray, pray, 

pray! He felt like he'd rather scream.

He loved her; needed her. He still just had a few niggling 

doubts that she would forgive his... desertion. He hadn't 

dared talk to her about it--she needed to get some 

reassurance from him, not to hear about his own 

insecurities. Clark reached out and gently brushed a curl 

away from Kiley's face.

He tugged the blankets up around her and made sure that 

Clarkie-bear and Annie were within reach. Clark stood up 

and quietly left the room, making sure that the door was 

left cracked open behind him. He entered his room and 

yanked off the fancy clothing, leaving it in piles on the 

floor for the servants to sort out. Clark threw himself on 

the bed and buried his face in the pillow, clutching the 

locket tightly in one fist.

Clark sighed heavily. He missed Lois. He missed 

accidentally eating her long hair when the wind blew it too 

close to his face. He missed kissing her, sleeping with 

her head pillowed on his chest, making love with her... He 

missed cooking because she still wasn't very good in the 

kitchen. He wanted to go home; that meant wherever his 

Lois was.

Clark groaned softly. Thinking about her wasn't going to 

help him get to sleep. Lois? he called out mournfully, 

hoping for an answer.

Clark, what's the matter? came the soft reply.

Nuthin' he answered. I just wanted to talk to you... 

I miss you.

Clark Jerome Kal-El Kent! There is *too* something wrong 

I can feel it!

um, well...

Spill it, flyboy.

Sweetheart, um, I guess... um, I'm just kind of... 

scared.

Farmboy, you're more than scared--you're terrified! I 

can feel it from here. What's the matter, honey? she 

asked.

Clark drew in a deep breath. I'm scared that, because I, 

well... deserted you... and they took Kiley away... that 

you won't want me back, he admitted quietly.

Clark, sweetheart, I love you. Lois began. You *had* 

to go; they didn't leave us a choice. It wasn't your fault 

that they stole Kiley--and she's safe now. As long as she 

knows that we love her, she should be okay.

Clark began to smile slightly as he felt her arms come 

around him. But, I still *left* and I promised that I'd 

*never* do that.

Sweetheart, *it's not your fault*! You didn't want to 

leave; I know that. I *love* you. Remember? I'll love 

you forever...

...and throughout all eternity, he finished softly.

You've got that right! Clark, I know that you'll be home 

as soon as you can. I miss you.

Clark felt a faint pressure against his lips and smiled. 

I love you, he sent as he began to feel her rain 

ghostly kisses all over his face. Stay with me, honey? 

I need you here with me, he finished quietly.

All you have to do is ask, sweetheart, came the reply.

Clark sighed softly as he felt her small body curl up in 

his embrace. He laid his hand against the round bulge 

where their child was growing, convinced that Lois was 

really there with him, even though she was light years 

away. I love you, he whispered into her thoughts as he 

closed his eyes.

I love you, too, he heard as his breathing evened out 

and he fell asleep.

****

Zara puttered around her bedroom, carefully pulling the 

pins out of her hair and shaking it free. She removed the 

slender gold circlet that was embossed with the intertwined 

symbols of her House and Clark's and laid it one her 

dressing table.

She had a feeling that the next few weeks would be 

difficult. After all, there was still Nor to take care of, 

and now there was a lonely little girl in the room next 

door whom desperately missed her mother. Silently, she 

cursed the decision her father and the Council of Elders 

had made. They took a happy little girl from her home and 

turned her into the frightened, sad creature who was living 

next door. 

Zara had caught brief glimpses of the real child in Clark's 

presence. She sincerely hoped that the experience hadn't 

hurt the baby--four was a very young age to be subjected to 

such trauma. Silently, she vowed to protect Kiley--she 

would make sure that the child would be reunited with the 

family that had been left behind. 

With that thought, Zara quickly stripped off the gown she 

was wearing in favor of a comfortable shift and robe. She 

arranged herself on the bed before closing her eyes to 

concentrate on finding Kiley's sleeping mind. She threw 

out a line to the little one, forming a tenuous connection 

that would allow her to know if the child was in distress. 

It was the same sort of link formed between mother and 

child before birth on her world...

Zara sighed and climbed underneath the bed coverings. The 

next day would be a long one--there was still the matter of 

the custody of Nor's son to resolve. His name would not be 

changed, but it was essential that a noble household raise 

him--he was still Kav-Nor's heir, and as such he had to 

learn of the responsibilities that came with his birth. 

For tonight, however, she need not worry, her father had 

put him in her old room for the night. 

Zara closed her eyes, but just as she was about to drift 

off, she felt a tug from the direction of Kiley's room. 

Quickly, she threw back the covers, hurried out of the 

room, and to the child's bedside. 

"No, nonononono, NO!" Kiley screamed. She sat straight up 

in her bed and began to cry. "No," she whimpered. 

Without conscious thought, Zara gathered Kiley close to her 

and began to rock back and forth, making comforting noises. 

"Shhh, what's the matter, jal'hera?" she asked softly. "It 

was only a dream..."

Kiley sniffed and buried her face in the front of Zara's 

shift. "The bad man who hurt that big kid took Daddy an' 

he was hurting him," she cried softly.

Zara pulled Kiley in her lap and began to stroke her long 

hair as she rocked gently back and forth. "Lin'dra, he 

won't hurt your Daddy--I promise. Shh, it's okay." She 

held her closely for a moment and began to hum the lullaby 

softly.

"I want to see," Kiley said, snuffling as tears streamed 

down her face.

Zara put Kiley down on the bed before standing and picking 

her back up. She settled the little girl on her hip and 

began to walk towards the door. "We'll go see him... and 

then we'll come back in here. Lin'dra, your Daddy is 

probably sleeping right now."

Kiley leaned her head against Zara's shoulder. "Want Daddy 

anyway," she said tearfully.

Zara kissed her on the cheek as she crossed over the 

threshold into Clark's room. "See?" she whispered softly. 

"Your Daddy is sleeping, he's safe."

Kiley turned to look at her father. "Mommy's there too," 

she asserted quietly, pointing to a slight shimmer in the 

air next to Clark. 

Zara took a closer look and was surprised to see a slight 

indentation in the pillow beside him. "Yes she is," she 

affirmed. "Your Mommy and Daddy are what you would call 

'soulmates'. Because of how the One made us, it means that 

such things are possible; telepathy is part of it."

Kiley stared at Zara in puzzlement, momentarily forgetting 

her earlier distress. "What's 'telepathy'?" she asked.

"It's where you can talk to another person without speaking 

out loud," Zara explained, using the simplest terms she 

could think of to put it in. "Now, lin'dra, it's time to go 

back to bed." She hoisted the little girl a bit higher on 

her hip and left the room quietly.

"Aunt Zara?" Kiley asked, fear returning to her eyes.

"Yes, lin'dra?"

"Can I sleep with you tonight? It's dark in there an' I'm 

afraid of the dark. An' will you sing to me?"

"Of course, lin'dra. Of course." Zara changed directions 

and headed to her room, thankful that there was a rocking 

chair in there as well. She entered the room, sat down in 

the chair, and arranged the child comfortably in her lap. 

Zara grabbed a tissue and blotted Kiley's face matter-of-

factly before she began to rock back and forth. Zara kissed 

Kiley on the forehead before she began to sing.

"Little one, the nightmares are over,

Little one, there is nothing to fear,

Dreams hold nothing to fear--

the evil darkness has passed us by," 

Kiley snuggled closer to Zara as she began to rub her back 

gently, trying to soothe her out of her fright.

"Little one, sleep safe and sound,

Little one, I am here beside you,

The Darkness will not find you--

I will keep it away."

Kiley began to calm and her eyelids grew heavy. Zara 

continued to rock her and rub her back soothingly, praying 

to the One for this precious child's safety.

"Little one, your parents love you,

Little one, all will be well,

The Darkness cannot find you--

We will stop it's coming."

Kiley's eyes closed as Zara continued the song. Noticing 

this, Zara began to simply hum the tune as she stood up 

carefully and placed the child in the large bed. She stole 

quietly out of the large room and hurried to get the 

stuffed bear that had been left in the tumbled bed 

coverings in Kiley's room. She snatched the bear out of 

the bed and hurried back to her own chamber where the 

little girl had begun to toss and turn in the bed, mumbling 

in her sleep. 

Zara placed the bear in the child's arms before tucking the 

covers around her securely and climbing into the other side 

of the bed. She stroked the child's cheek softly, sending 

feelings of comfort and safety through the tenuous link 

between them. "Shhh, jal'hera," she said softly. "It's 

okay, you're safe." Kiley quieted and slipped into a deeper 

sleep. Zara placed one more gentle kiss on the top of the 

child's head before she, too succumbed to the waiting arms 

of slumber.

**** 

Joseph sniffled as he pulled himself out of his crib and 

headed towards his mom's room. He pushed open the door and 

toddled over to where Lois lay sleeping. "Mommy?" he said 

questioningly.

Lois opened her eyes and regarded her small son sleepily. 

"What is it, scout?" she asked.

"Mommy, Jo'eph wanna 'leep wiv you. Jo'eph scaird! 

Mon'ter!" he rubbed a hand across his face, smearing the 

remnants of tears that lay on his cheeks.

"Climb on in, sweetie," she said softly, patting the bed 

next to her.

Joseph scrambled up onto the bed and under the covers. 

"Love you," he said with a sunny smile. "Baby sister say 

she love you, too," he patted her stomach and planted a wet 

kiss on it. He stuck his thumb in his mouth and snuggled 

close to her.

Lois stared at her son in shock for a moment before she 

brushed his hair back gently and kissed him on the cheek. 

"Baby sister, huh?" she murmured. "It's possible, I 

suppose. Even if I was hoping for another little boy." 

She sighed softly and hugged her son close to her. "I 

guess it's time to start discussing names with Clark," she 

whispered as her eyes began to close. Slowly, her 

breathing evened out and she fell asleep.

Martha peeked into Lois's room and smiled at the tableau 

before her. Her daughter-in-law and her grandson were 

curled up next to each other, fast asleep. It was well 

past midnight and the Lanes would be there relatively early 

in the morning. She tiptoed into the room and gently 

tucked the blankets in around her family before quietly 

leaving the room to get some sleep herself.

****

Clark woke suddenly and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He 

got up quickly and went to Kiley's room to check on her. 

He could have sworn that he had heard his little girl 

screaming, and he had to reassure himself of her safety.

He was shocked to find her tumbled bed empty in the middle 

of the night, so he hurried over to Zara's room--she would 

know how to call out the guards to find his missing baby. 

He knocked once on the door before entering. He sighed in 

relief as he saw Kiley tucked into the middle of Zara's 

otherwise empty bed.

Kiley sat up and yawned sleepily. "Daddy?" she said in a 

sleep blurred voice. "The Council called Aunt Zara. It's 

lonely in here without her an' I don't like the dark." She 

held out her arms to him in a wordless plea to be picked 

up. "Can I sleep with you?"

Clark immediately swung her into his arms. "Of course you 

can, punkin'" he said as she snuggled into his embrace and 

laid her head on his chest. Zara, Kiley woke up and 

asked to sleep in my room, okay? he sent quickly. 

Sure, Clark, came the distracted response.

Why did they want you in the middle of the night, 

anyway? he asked.

Just a small matter... nothing to worry about

He frowned, sensing that it was just an excuse. He also 

sensed that Zara had matters under control and she thought 

that his little girl needed to be taken care of first. 

Clark strode out of the room and across the hall where he 

tucked Kiley into his bed. "Goodnight, punkin'. I love 

you," he said softly, dropping a kiss on her cheek.

"I love you, too, Daddy," she said sleepily before her eyes 

drifted shut.

Clark climbed into the large bed and watched his daughter 

sleep for a few minutes before he allowed himself to resume 

his interrupted slumber.

****

Lois carefully made her way down the back stairs into the 

living room, gripping the banister tightly. Her parents 

were supposed to arrive at any minute, and she definitely 

didn't want to greet them in her bedroom upstairs, not with 

what she had to tell them.

Lois got to the bottom of the stairs and started to cross 

the room, lost in thought. She grimaced as she thought of 

their inevitable reactions. Sam would most likely be okay, 

but she was sure that Ellen would take the news badly. Her 

mother had always hated not to be in on every detail of her 

daughters' lives and their secret was not only the biggest 

thing that she had neglected to inform her mother of, but 

the most important.

Joseph came running into the room and his little face lit 

up as he caught sight of her. "Mommy!" he squealed 

happily as he hurled himself at her, grabbing her legs in a 

huge hug. "Up," he demanded, releasing her legs and holding 

his arms out to her.

Lois laughed and took his hand in hers as she hurried over 

towards her favorite armchair. She sat down in it before 

pulling her little boy into her ever-diminishing lap. 

He snuggled up to her and patted her tummy. "Hello baby 

'ister," he said happily. Joseph leaned over kissed Lois's 

stomach. "Jo'eph love you."

"She loves you, too, scout," Lois said, hugging him 

tightly. She looked up as the front door opened and her 

mother walked in with her father lugging the bags bringing 

up the rear.

"Lois!" Ellen called. "What are you doing out of bed?" she 

scolded before Lois could say anything.

"Mo-ther," Lois began, "Doctor Robinson said that I can get 

up for short periods of time and that it won't hurt the 

baby."

"Princess!" Sam said happily as he dropped the suitcases 

with a thump, leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. He 

smiled and swung Joseph up into his arms. "And how's my 

favorite grandson doing today?" he asked, tickling his 

tummy. 

Joseph threw his arms around Sam's neck and planted a wet 

kiss on his cheek. "I love you Gan'pa Lane." He gave his 

grandfather a sunny smile and another hug before squirming 

to get down.

"Do you want down, Joey?" Sam asked.

Joseph's little face clouded up. "Me *not* Joey," he 

insisted. He squirmed out of his grandfather's grasp, fell 

to the ground and began to cry. "Me Jo'eph!" he yelled 

through his tears. He climbed to his feet back into the 

chair with Lois before burying his face in her chest, still 

crying.

Lois checked him over for injuries and enfolded him in a 

comforting embrace. "Shhh, it's okay, scout."

Joseph began to quiet, his little body cuddling closer to 

his mother. Ellen began to look around the room, searching 

for something or someone. "Where's my favorite 

granddaughter?" she asked quickly. "I haven't seen her or 

talked to her in months, and now that I'm here, she should 

be around to give her grandmother a kiss. Lois I don't 

care what the jackass doctor says, with the problems you've 

had with that pregnancy since Clark went haring off on that 

idiotic undercover assignment, you should stay in bed until 

that baby's due date." Ellen started to pace back and forth 

impatiently while continuing her rant. 

"That is, unless you want to have *another* preemie on your 

hands without Clark here to help take care of it. You'd 

think you would have learned your lesson with Joseph, but 

no, you wanted more children and you wouldn't listen to 

your mother that since both he and Kiley were born a month 

early and you were so sick with him that you should at 

least wait another few years until you two started trying 

for another." Lois tried to interrupt, but gave up in 

favor of continuing to comfort Joseph. 

"But what do I know?" Ellen continued. "I'm just your 

mother, the woman who spent 32 hours in labor giving birth 

to you. I swear, you listen to Martha Kent more than you 

listen to me and *I'm* your mother!" Ellen came up for 

air and took a long look at her daughter and her grandson.

Lois looked up at her. "Mother, Daddy, I was going to say 

that it's nice to see you, but you really shouldn't have 

come all the way out here." She stroked Joseph's hair 

gently and dropped a kiss on the top of his head. "Mother, 

you know that the doctors have averaged being about a month 

off with me, both Kiley and Joseph were perfectly healthy 

babies and I'm sure this little one will be, too." 

Lois rested her hand on her swollen belly and took a deep 

breath. "It's also not Joseph's fault that I insisted on 

chasing leads out in cold rainy weather when I already had 

a cold... that's what made me get sick, not carrying my 

son." 

Joseph looked up at Lois worriedly. "Mommy sick?" he 

asked.

Lois hugged him. "No, scout, Mommy's fine," she answered.

"'tay," he said and brought his thumb up to his mouth. 

"Love you," he said around it.

"I love you too, sweetie," she said quietly. Lois took a 

deep breath and looked at her parents again. "Kiley isn't 

here because she's with Clark."

"*What*???" Ellen said, looking shocked. "I knew that your 

husband wasn't all that smart when he went on a deep cover 

assignment, leaving you four months pregnant with his 

child, but this is nothing short of imbecilic! *What* can 

he be thinking to take a four year old child on a dangerous 

assignment?! I don't know what you *ever* saw in the man, 

Lois, but you can do better!"

Sam fiddled with his tie, not really knowing what to say. 

"Ellen, calm down. Princess, I know that Clark is a good 

man and that he makes you happy. There *must* be a logical 

explanation for this, and I want it." 

"Mother, Daddy, there's something you two need to know..."

****

Lord Nor sipped his wine and smiled at the images playing 

before him on the vidscreen. Phase one of his plan was 

complete. He had altered the chip in his son's arm to 

transmit the surveillance video in the palace to him. He 

now had visuals of every area of the palace to which the 

child had access. He swirled the wine around in his glass, 

chortling over the fact that the Speaker and the Chief 

Memory had been stupid enough to take the bait and take his 

unknowing plant into the palace. Through the boy's chip, 

he would be able to track the Heir's movements. He chuckled 

to himself as he contemplated his perfect plan for world 

domination.

Soon he could implement his plan for a... kind of palace 

coup. He contemplated the ruby red wine still in his 

goblet and frowned. Perhaps it would be best to wait a few 

weeks in order to lull them into a false sense of security. 

After all, he would only get one chance for his plan to 

succeed. If he failed, it would be certain execution on 

Traitor's Hill--and that would mean that the self-righteous 

goody-goodies that ran this puny planet would win. 

Yes, he thought with an evil chuckle. He would play a 

waiting game and further consolidate his power base. It 

would also be... wise to wait until Tak became the 

Princess's playmate. After all, it simply wouldn't do to 

let them corrupt his son. Nor threw back his head and 

began to laugh.

****

Deep down in the bowels of Kav-Nor's manor, Eyindl-Kqa 

shivered at the sound of her Lord's laughter as it echoed 

throughout the great stone pile. "What kind of monster 

have I given myself to?" she wondered fearfully. She had 

expected much of his harsh treatment of her, after all, 

hadn't her father treated her the same way? But her son... 

She would give anything to know if he was safe. Kav had 

come to her and informed her of her baby's death, telling 

her that it was all for the best anyway--he had said that 

he should have saved himself the trouble and strangled the 

brat right after he was born.

Eyindl pressed her body closer to the cold wall of her 

prison. What kind of monster had she linked her fortunes 

to? If only she hadn't succumbed to the first charming man 

who offered to take her away from her father's House, if 

only she had made him marry her! Her family had turned 

their faces from her when she had become his concubine--if 

she had married him, at least she would have somewhere to 

run to and some means of support if she divorced him. She 

had gotten herself into this mess, and it was up to her to 

get word to the Council to get herself out of it. 

She had shamed her family and caused a major scandal when 

she had run away with Kav-Nor instead of submitting to the 

marriage that had been arranged for her since birth. 

Perhaps she really did deserve every beating she had ever 

gotten--from both her father and from her Lord and Master. 

Eyindl hid her face in her hands and began to sob.

The End. To Be Continued in Forever and All Eternity III: 

Destiny.

(c) Laura Davies 2003, All Rights Reserved.


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